The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce has announced that current state Sen. Matt Smith (D-Allegheny) will be its next president. Before being elected to the Senate, Smith served three terms in the state House of Representatives.
He said the work before him as head of the Chamber won’t be much different than what he’s used to.
“Workforce development, education issues, economic development and community-based issues as well as transportation infrastructure issues that we’ve worked on over the last couple of years at the state level,” said Smith.
The Chamber is an affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and advocates in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Pittsburgh region. Smith said he will resign his Senate seat before joining the Chamber sometime in June.
“I use the experience I’ve developed over the last eight and a half or so years as a legislator to bring some of those skills to the table for the Allegheny Conference and the Chamber,” he said.
In a statement, Laura Ellsworth, chair of the Chamber said, “We’re pleased to welcome Senator Smith as our new president and look forward to his leadership as we work together to advocate on critical issues that will shape our region’s future.”
That future, said Smith, has some exciting developments on the horizon.
“On the infrastructure front, transportation infrastructure, energy infrastructure, education – we’ve seen really robust investments in early childhood education, particularly in western Pennsylvania; there are good things happening at the airport,” he said.
Prior to holding elected office, Smith worked as an attorney with the Babst Calland law firm in Pittsburgh. He was born in Bethel Park and currently lives in Mt. Lebanon. Smith replaces Chamber president Dewitt Pearl, who left the position earlier this year.
