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About Eshauna Smith

National Director of Community Impact at Ballmer Group Philanthropy

Compiled from 20 entries (1 tweets, 1 videos, 18 articles) / updated 1d ago / v1

Eshauna Smith is the National Director of Community Impact at Ballmer Group Philanthropy, focusing on social impact through economic mobility and opportunity creation for underserved youth. She previously served as CEO of Urban Alliance, where she scaled programs providing paid internships, mentorship, and skills training to high school students from low-income and communities of color. Her thinking emphasizes leveling the 'playing field of luck' via purposeful interventions, paying it forward, and data-driven equity in workforce development.

Personal Journey and Paying It Forward

Eshauna Smith's career is rooted in her own experiences with 'luck'—early jobs like a $5/hour accounting internship after ninth grade in Los Angeles that funded her opportunities.[5][4] In her TEDx talk 'The Lucky Ones,' she honors her mother and mentors who supported her, vowing to pay it forward by creating pathways for underprivileged youth.[4][7][8][9]

Leveling the Playing Field of Luck

Smith argues that success for underprivileged youth shouldn't depend on chance but on deliberate interventions like paid internships and mentorship.[7][8][9] She promotes 'purposeful luck' through programs that provide repetition, reflection, and practice to build skills.[13]

Leadership at Urban Alliance

Joining Urban Alliance in 2013 and becoming CEO in 2014, Smith expanded the nonprofit's high school internship model across cities like Detroit, emphasizing economic opportunity and equitable workforce development.[1][3][6][11][19] She highlighted adaptations during challenges like the pandemic to maintain first-job experiences.[18][16]

Advocacy for Data-Driven Impact and Equity

Smith champions measurement for progress, as in her support for What Works Cities Certification: 'What gets measured gets done.'[12][17] She touts research proving Urban Alliance's model yields results for students and employers.[10] Recent Forbes contributions focus on building equitable next-generation workforces, even in crises.[16]

Current Role at Ballmer Group

Since 2021, as Ballmer Group's first National Director of Community Impact (initially Community Mobilization), Smith invests in innovators like TED Fellows to advance social impact and economic mobility.[14][19][2] Her LinkedIn posts reflect ongoing community impact work.[2]

Partnerships and Scaling Impact

Smith celebrates corporate partners like Bank of America and Hyatt for expanding youth opportunities in cities like Chicago.[20] She announced Urban Alliance's first Detroit Executive Director, signaling growth.[11]

Key themes

Leveling the Playing Field of Luck

Advocates replacing random chance with structured opportunities like internships for underserved youth.

  • Cannot let luck decide fate of underprivileged youth—need purposeful interventions [7][8][9]

  • Pays tribute to personal 'lucky' mentors and commits to paying it forward [4]

Paid Internships and Workforce Development

Core to Urban Alliance's model: combines paid work, mentorship, and skills for economic mobility.

  • Unique combination of paid internships, one-on-one college prep yields proven results [10][13]

  • First jobs teach paycheck, coworkers, feedback even in pandemic [18]

Paying It Forward and Personal Story

Draws from her mother's support and early jobs to inspire youth programs.

  • Summer job after 9th grade funded opportunities; tribute to helpers [5][4]

  • Inspired to pay it forward [4]

Data-Driven and Equitable Impact

Emphasizes measurement, research, and equity in philanthropy and hiring.

  • What gets measured gets done [12]

  • Equitable next-gen workforce even during pandemic [16]

Scaling Through Partnerships

Expands reach via corporate partners, new cities, and investments.

  • Bank of America, Hyatt increase Chicago youth access [20]

  • First Detroit Executive Director [11]

  • Ballmer funds TED Fellows [14]

Sources (20)

Every entry that fed the multi-agent compile above. Inline citation markers in the wiki text (like [1], [2]) are not yet individually linked to specific sources — this is the full set of sources the compile considered.

  1. Eshauna Smith - Bernstein Family Foundationarticle · 2026-04-14
  2. Eshauna Smith's Post - LinkedInarticle · 2026-04-14
  3. A Woman Who Means Business - Urban Alliancearticle · 2026-04-14
  4. The Lucky Ones | Eshauna Smith | TEDxPennsylvaniaAvenuearticle · 2026-04-14
  5. Nonprofit Leader Shares Her Life Story to Promote Jobs for Youthsarticle · 2026-04-14
  6. Meeting the Moment with Eshauna Smith - New Profitarticle · 2026-04-14
  7. Eshauna Smith: How Can We Level The Playing Field Of Luck?article · 2026-04-14
  8. Eshauna Smith: How Can We Level The Playing Field Of Luck?article · 2026-04-14
  9. Eshauna Smith: How Can We Level The Playing Field Of Luck? - NPRarticle · 2026-04-14
  10. Strada Education Network Blog: Internship Program Yields Proven ...article · 2026-04-14
  11. Welcoming Our First Detroit Executive Director - Urban Alliancearticle · 2026-04-14
  12. What the Experts Are Saying about What Works Cities Certificationarticle · 2026-04-14
  13. Urban Alliance: Connecting Youth of Color With Internship ...article · 2026-04-14
  14. TED Fellows program supporting the next generation of innovators ...article · 2026-04-14
  15. Eshauna Smith (@EshaunaS) / Posts / Xarticle · 2026-04-14
  16. Blog - Urban Alliancearticle · 2026-04-14
  17. 5 in 5: Eshauna Smith, Urban Alliance's Chief Executive Officerarticle · 2026-04-14
  18. A Very Different First Job. Moving Urban Alliance's High School…article · 2026-04-14
  19. Eshauna Smith - Urban Alliancearticle · 2026-04-14
  20. New Medium post by Eshauna Smith: 'Help us increase economic ...article · 2026-04-14