Recently, Color Of Change announced that nationally renowned civil rights leader Nadine Smith will become its new President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 12, 2026, bringing her principled leadership, strategic brilliance, and uncompromising dedication to justice to the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.
As the founding Executive Director of Equality Florida, Smith has been fighting battles that the rest of the country is just beginning to face. Smith has demonstrated again and again what it takes to win and defend civil rights, including defeating 29 out of 30 regressive bills over the past two years.
“From the moment we first spoke with Nadine about this role, we knew we had found the exact visionary our movement needs at this critical juncture in our nation’s history,” says Color Of Change Board Chair Heather McGhee. “Her three decades of tireless advocacy, her proven track record of turning impossible fights into victories, and her unwavering commitment to building power for overlooked and underserved communities make her the right person to guide Color Of Change.”
Said Smith: “I’m excited to join Color Of Change and build on its legacy. Millions are counting on us to reach our full strength. We have to turn grassroots energy into real power, stop those trying to drag the country backward, and counter media consolidation that puts both truth and democracy in the corrupt hands of a ruthless and fearful few.
I’m optimistic even in the face of cruelty because this backlash signals a dying order. Our job is not only to defend our communities’ right now but to build something stronger from what has been destroyed. The multiracial future our opponents fear is not only inevitable, it is the only future in which America survives and thrives.”
She has been a lifelong advocate for Black people, from her early days as one of the four national co-chairs of the 1993 March on Washington that drew one million pro-equality marchers to the nation’s capital, to the critical role she played in Florida’s Fair Districts campaign to end racial gerrymandering and make state legislative and congressional districts more representative of Black and brown voters.
Smith built Equality Florida, alongside the 501(c)(4) Equality Florida Action and Equality Florida Action PAC, into one of the nation’s most effective grassroots civil rights organizations, with other advocacy groups using it as the blueprint to win.
Now that assault on democracy is a national project, we need a leader who will not be intimidated by those who see our progress as a threat to their power. Nadine is that leader, with proven grit and a resolve that has only grown stronger with each challenge.
“Florida has been a testing ground for Project 2025, but when you get up close to the machine, you can see its cracks,” said Smith. “I’ve learned that our opposition will always falter in the face of smart strategies and powerful organizing, and that’s what Color Of Change brings to this moment.”
Smith has been named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, recognized by Lambda Legal, honored by the League of Women Voters, awarded the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund Award, and serves as chair of the Florida Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
She is a sophisticated communicator with deep appreciation for the power of narrative and understanding of the new media ecosystem. She began her career as an award-winning broadcast and print journalist — first at Tampa’s NPR affiliate, where her investigative reporting earned multiple honors, and later at the Tampa Tribune, then one of the largest newspapers in the Southeast.
Today, she hosts Wide Awake America, an award-winning radio show and podcast she created that has also become one of Substack’s fastest-growing independent media platforms. In just its first year, the show and Nadine’s social channels have built a following of hundreds of thousands amplifying grassroots voices and bringing vital news and analysis to the people who need it, beyond the paywall. She is also a strategic advisor to a network of progressive influencers, helping equip content creators to grow their impact and independence.
“Black people are at the leading edge of the new media ecosystem, and I believe Color Of Change is uniquely positioned to become the trusted media platform for our 7 million members and beyond,” said Smith. “We can break through the propaganda dome to expose the powerful and fuel an unstoppable grassroots movement.”
Said Color Of Change Education Fund Chair Jenn Stowe: “The stakes have never been higher for Black communities and for multiracial democracy itself. Now more than ever, we need a leader who will not be intimidated by those who see our progress as a threat to their power. Nadine is that leader, with proven grit and a resolve that has only grown stronger with each challenge.”
