Pensacola native Alex Smith brings a rare depth of governmental, legislative, and community relations experience to the Community Health Northwest Florida Foundation Board — the kind of background that turns good intentions into real outcomes.
As Associate Vice President for External Affairs and Government Relations at the University of West Florida, Alex leads the institution’s engagement with public and private stakeholders, shapes UWF’s legislative priorities, and advocates on the university’s behalf at the federal, state, and local levels. It’s a role that puts him at the intersection of higher education, economic development, and regional partnership-building — and one that reflects a career spent making Northwest Florida stronger from the inside out.
Before joining UWF, Alex served as Special Assistant to Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves, where he managed more than $75 million in appropriations and grants, served as the city’s legislative liaison, and helped facilitate major development projects across the city. Earlier in his career, he held staff positions with the Executive Office of the Florida Governor and took on campaign leadership roles, including serving as campaign manager for Mayor Reeves’s historic mayoral victory.
That track record — city hall, the governor’s office, a major public university — gives Alex a sophisticated understanding of how policy decisions ripple through communities. He knows how funding flows, how legislation shapes services, and how to build the coalitions that get things done.
Alex’s civic footprint in Pensacola runs deep. He serves on the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and its Policy Committee, the ARC Gateway Board of Directors, the WSRE Foundation, the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition Advisory Committee, the Pensacola board for SmartBank, and Pensacola Navy Days.
A Florida State University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science — earned cum laude. When he steps away from work and community commitments, he finds his balance in nature.