Jennifer Smits

Briefly

Jennifer Smits has served as director of communications for USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) since Dec. 2016. With her team, she coordinates all agency internal and external communications, such as media relations, social media, and webinars and events. Prior to joining ERS, Smits worked at the U.S. Census Bureau for seven years, serving as chief of the Public Information Office’s Media Relations Branch and in a variety of other positions, beginning in 2009 as a public affairs specialist working on the 2010 Census. She also managed the Census Bureau’s blogs and social media.

Background

Smits previously worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a public affairs specialist in the Mississippi Recovery Office, which focused on Mississippi’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina. At FEMA, she worked on a variety of projects, including establishing employee newsletters for the Mississippi Recovery Office and photographing FEMA recovery projects on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Smits holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University.