President Joe Biden will nominate Michael D. Smith to serve as the chief executive officer of AmeriCorps, the nation’s main public service program, the White House confirmed Tuesday.
Smith currently serves as the executive director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance — an initiative launched by former President Barack Obama in 2014 to address opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color. Smith is also the director of youth opportunity programs at the Obama Foundation.
CNN was first to report Smith would be Biden’s nominee to lead AmeriCorps.
Smith will need Senate confirmation to lead the federal agency. AmeriCorps receives both federal and private funds and has about 270,000 members and volunteers serving across the country.
Smith said in a statement: “I’ve seen firsthand how service, and this extraordinary federal agency, can uplift and transform — in my life and countless others. If confirmed, I could not be more proud to have the honor to support the hundreds of thousands of AmeriCorps members and alumni whose hearts full of grace and souls generated by love enrich and inspire kids and communities/children and families in greatest need every day.”
