Chanda Smart is a long-time resident of Roxbury, MA, studied (pre)law at the University of Massachusetts and served as an Executive Administrator to Lani Guinier and Yochai Benkler, at Harvard Law School. Her 20 years plus of corporate experience included executing operational strategy and delivering results for employers such as Deloitte & Touche LLP, The Gillette Company, American Express, Andersen Consulting, and the Ritz Carlton (Atlanta, GA). In 2021, Mrs. Smart co-founded The OnyxGroup Development LLC a Boston-based black woman-owned & operated brokerage, planning & development. The OnyxGroup focuses on providing quality, programmatic workforce housing through public and private partnerships. We believe that affordable housing should not be synonymous with poverty.

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As of 2023, Mrs. Smart is serving on the MBTA Board of Directors the MBTA Workforce and Development Subcommittee & the MBTA Pension Board, Board Member on the Children’s Advocacy Center (Boston, MA) and Madison Park Development Corporation Board and Real Estate Sub Committee (Roxbury, MA). She also served on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s Rent Stabilization Advisory Board in 2022-2023.