Appointment of Desirée Cormier Smith as the Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice

This Administration has consistently sought to confront systemic racism and injustice around the world, and, to that end, I have appointed Desirée Cormier Smith as the State Department’s first Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice. Serving in this role, Special Representative Cormier Smith will lead our efforts to protect and advance the human rights of people belonging to marginalized racial and ethnic communities and combat systemic racism, discrimination, and xenophobia around the world.

The State Department strives to promote and protect the rights of individuals and communities who are oppressed because of their race or ethnicity and create a just world where all people are valued, included, and able to live up to their full potential.  Special Representative Cormier Smith will also ensure that our own policies are protecting and advancing the rights of people belonging to marginalized racial and ethnic communities. Embedding equity across our work is imperative to ensuring better-informed and more effective foreign policies and programs that support all people regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Special Representative Cormier Smith is a recognized racial justice expert with a deep and steadfast commitment to equity and justice for all. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Senior Advisor in the Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs along with previous stints in the advocacy and private sectors. Ms. Desirée Cormier Smith began her career as a Foreign Service Officer at the State Department. I am thrilled to welcome her back to the Department in this new and historic role.