Shelby Cabral Smither || HR Director, Nike

Shelby is a seasoned HR executive with over 25 years of experience building HR strategies and programs to enhance organizational performance and increase employee effectiveness and has held HR leadership roles with companies including Nike, IBM and Polaroid. She has also done extensive work in the DEI area focused on improving representation, increasing employee engagement, and giving voice to under-served communities. Shelby is a true “Boston Girl” having attended Boston Latin School and Wellesley College and working her entire career in Boston. A particular passion of hers is ensuring Boston students have exposure to Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). Shelby is an active member of organizations that share her passions for Boston’s young people and women such as Jack and Jill of America, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Middlesex County Chapter of The Links. She lives in Ashland, MA, with her husband Ernest, and they are the parents of two college-age students who both attend HBCUs.