HMEPS Board

Rhonda Smith was elected to the HMEPS Board in 2020 and currently serves as Secretary of the Board. Ms. Smith is the Chief Financial Officer/Deputy Director for the Houston Police Department (HPD). She and her team provide oversight of HPD’s general fund, special funds, and capital improvement budgets, procurement administration and grant management. Ms. Smith also oversees HPD City Council liaison responsibility on behalf of the department, and is part of the Executive Command Staff.

Ms. Smith previously served as the Executive Director of HMEPS and the Deputy Director of the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund. Before returning to the public sector, she worked as the CFO for large nonprofit organizations including the Greater Houston American Red Cross and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Ms. Smith has served in volunteer roles with numerous professional and non-profit organizations, including National Executive Board Member and Chair of Audit Committee for the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), American Leadership Forum (ALF) Senior Fellow and Board Member; Advisory Committee Member for the Texas Wall Street Women organization and general member of Greater Houston Chamber of Commerce, Executive Women Partnership – Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Organization of Public Employees (HOPE).

Ms. Smith holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Houston and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from The Ohio State University. She is a graduate of the Rice University Certified Financial Planner Certification Education Program. Ms. Smith was recently recognized by the Texas Executive Women as a 2019 Women on the Move recipient and by the Houston Business Journal as one of Houston’s top Women Business Leaders – 2018 Women Who Mean Business recipients.