Since joining the RISE Board of Directors in 2019, Jenna Smith has brought thoughtful leadership, legal insight, and a strong commitment to the organization’s mission of individualized mental health care. Jenna’s connection to RISE began through the experience of a close childhood friend who found meaningful support and stability through one of RISE’s community residences.
Witnessing firsthand the organization’s impact inspired Jenna to become more involved and advocate for the compassionate, person-centered model that RISE provides. Today, Jenna serves on the personnel and strategic planning committees, recently stepped into the role of board secretary, and also participates in executive finance discussions. Drawing on her experience as a commercial litigator, Jenna approaches board service with careful listening, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
Jenna is an attorney based in Albany, where she practices commercial litigation with national law firm, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Her work focuses largely on renewable energy, banking and finance, consumer protection, antitrust, and competition law. Prior to attending law school, Jenna spent two years working on Capitol Hill for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. As a traveling aide, Jenna gained invaluable exposure to the legislative process, constituent engagement, and the demands of public service. In recognition of her professional accomplishments and community involvement, Jenna was recently named to the Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40.
Jenna’s dedication to service extends beyond RISE. She also serves as a board member for the Regional Food Bank and is especially passionate about issues surrounding food security and local agriculture. Growing up on a farm instilled in Jenna a deep appreciation for both feeding communities and supporting local farmers. She believes strongly that access to food, housing, and supportive care are fundamental needs that every person deserves to have met with dignity and compassion. Volunteerism has long been a cornerstone of Jenna’s life, influenced in large part by her parents who are deeply involved in their small-town community, and she hopes to pass those same values on to her own children.
A lifelong resident of the Town of Charlton, Jenna grew up on her family’s dairy farm, which has since evolved into the well-known Smith’s Orchard Bake Shop and apple orchard. Today, Jenna lives next door to her parents with her husband, Mike, their two young sons, and their dog Oliver. Much of family life revolves around the farm, where Jenna still enjoys helping at the bakery during busy seasons—especially Thanksgiving, when pie production becomes an around-the-clock family effort. In her free time, Jenna enjoys gardening, skiing, playing pickleball, and embracing the joys and chaos of raising a young family in a close-knit rural community.