As Senior Chief Deputy Director for LEO, Jonathan Smith works to advance our strategic goals and vision for Michigan’s economic future. He first joined LEO as Chief of Staff in 2020, playing an integral role in a wide variety of projects and initiatives critical to our mission.

Jonathan is a public policy professional that brings with him more than two decades of experience in policy development, legal analysis, regulatory oversight, management and strategic stakeholder engagement.

Jonathan previously served as a Chief of Staff and senior legislative staffer on Capitol Hill, including roles with a number of Members of the Michigan delegation such as Carl Levin, John Dingell and Gary Peters. While working in Congress he developed a robust public policy agenda and helped pass important legislation dealing with a number of issues important to LEO, including economic development, small business lending and workforce development. His private sector experience includes roles as an attorney at one of the nation’s largest law firms and as federal policy lead on emerging issues in the mobility sector for a large technology company. He holds degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan Law School.