Jolene Smith

Activist, Business mentor, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Social entrepreneur

Because life has a sense of humor, it was at the lowest point in my life—in heartbreak, navigating the end of a 23-year marriage, while on lockdown together with our 2 kids—when my work became to help people around the world create more JOY for themselves. Me, the person whose career had focused on the light and cheery topic of modern slavery and human trafficking. But as His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the late Archbishop Tutu explained to us all, JOY is not separate from the heartbreak of the world. In fact, when we create more JOY for ourselves, we’re better able to do everything else in life, including heal and transform ourselves and global challenges, as they did. I’m the Impact Producer for the film Mission: JOY - Finding Happiness in a Troubled World, featuring His Holiness and Arch. They united for one final joint mission before Arch passed: to help us all live with more JOY. The film premiered at Tribeca and has been featured in 52 film festivals. It’s global launch will be announced soon. For the film’s impact campaign, we partnered with UC Berkeley, Harvard, UCSF and 14 other universities to create The BIG JOY Project. Anyone can participate in The BIG JOY Challenge for free, taking 7 minutes a day for 7 days doing a tiny Act of JOY each day that science shows boosts moods, and record before and after emotions. It’s the world’s largest-ever citizen science project on JOY. I’d love to connect with individuals and organizations interested in mental health and well-being. And/or eradicating slavery! Definitely a monumental gift in life has been getting to work with Voices4Freedom, which helps entire villages to freedom in India. Official bio: Jolene Smith is a trailblazer in the anti-slavery movement and a social entrepreneur who works with those most affected by global challenges with those whose decisions have outsized impact to co-create solutions. Jolene and her colleagues were at the forefront of launching and growing the movement against modern slavery and human trafficking in the United States. In 2000, she co-founded and later became CEO of Free the Slaves, which grew to have programs in 6 countries to dismantle the systems that allow slavery to exist, and help people out of slavery and into sustainable freedom. Free the Slaves was the first organization to bring awareness about the global issue of modern slavery to the United States, and it pioneered many of the models upon which other programs and policies around the world are based. She has testified before Congress and has spoken out against modern slavery at venues including CBS News’ 48 Hours, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, NPR’s Marketplace, BBC Radio, Univisión, Talk Radio Johannesburg, Al Jazeera, and 10+ universities. Jolene co-authored the introduction to the noted photography book, Slavery, by Lisa Kristine and Peggy Callahan, with a foreward by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Jolene is Senior Advisor at Voices4Freedom, and is on the board of trustees for the Stewart R. Mott Foundation and Herndon Friends Projects. She previously worked in business consulting, and is a Qualified Paratrooper. Jolene grew up on a family farm in Iowa, and now lives outside of Washington, DC with her 2 outrageous daughters. Yes, she was named after the Dolly Parton song.

- Eradicating modern slavery - Making the moment by moment choice to be fueled by JOY

Anti-slavery policy and programs, Bipartisan coalition-building, Corporate social responsibility, Fundraising, High-impact philanthropy, Nonprofit management, Slavery in supply chains, Venture Human Capital

- Ultramarathons