Chéri Smith

Chéri Smith is the founder, President & CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, a national Indigenous-led nonprofit organization she established in 2016. A descendant of the Mi’kmaq people of Northern Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, as well as of European ancestry, Chéri brings over 25 years of experience in the renewable energy sector to her work supporting Native Nations in their self-determined pursuit of clean energy. Her leadership centers on the belief that clean energy can be a powerful tool for economic revitalization, climate resilience, and tribal sovereignty. She previously led workforce development at SolarCity and Tesla, coordinating large-scale training initiatives for major solar and battery manufacturing facilities, and served in leadership roles with the American Council On Renewable Energy and national Department of Energy initiatives.

Chéri has advised institutions including Yale’s School of the Environment, Penn State’s Renewable Energy program, and local Workforce Investment Boards. She is an MIT Indigenous Communities Fellow, Cordes Fellow, and Al Gore–trained Climate Leader. Her contributions to clean energy equity have earned recognition including the GM Prize for social entrepreneurship and a finalist position for the Elevate Prize. She lives on the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett with her husband, a commercial fisherman, and is the proud mother of three children, including an Army wounded warrior.