At 34, and at the helm of the Urban League of Broward County, Dr. Germaine Smith-Baugh has taken on the mammoth task to continue to fulfill the non-profit’s mission of “assisting African Americans in the achievement of social and economic equality.”

The CEO brought together a number of people from various sectors of the community to share her new vision and direction of the Urban League at their Annual Business Meeting on January 18, 2008. Under the theme, New Leadership, New Beginning, New Journey, Smith-Baugh outlined the issues the League intends to address, with the help of various administrative and county agencies. She zeroed in on six major areas, business development, education, employment, health, housing and safety, which need to be addressed in order to improve communities in the county.

Dr. Smith-Baugh told the National Weekly in an interview that of the six, perhaps the most important is safety, as safe communities are more conducive to business development and the other issues. She said, for safety, they would be “partnering with law enforcement and neighborhood associations” to evaluate the needs of the community and meet them. “Urban League does not have all the answers, but we need to come together as a community and revitalize the urban corridors. You can’t keep moving west,” she said with a chuckle.

Safe housing was another important aspect of her empowerment agenda, and for this she said the League would partner with affordable housing developers along with the County to come up with solutions. Though still in the in developmental stages, Dr. Smith-Baugh believes in the ability of the community to come together in partnerships to achieve these goals and she is ready to work with them for the betterment of the residents of Broward County.

“We can change communities when we decide to collectively put our resources together,” she said at the meeting. “We want to ensure that the Urban League exists, so that we can provide positive services to the community.”

Germaine understands the needs of the communities and knows that the youth have the potential to achieve great things, as she, who grew up in a low-income household, has achieved. This, she said, is one of the reasons she felt so passionate about improving the communities.

The CEO told the National Weekly she was born in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands and is the last of five children. She grew up in public housing in VI and had been exposed to some of the problems like teen pregnancy, drugs and gun violence, which usually come with living in the projects. While there was always food in her house, she said with her father’s income which could very well have been below the poverty line, they also depended on government subsidies.

This did not prevent her parents, who had no formal education, to encourage her as she went through school, and imparting what they had - good work ethic and a value system. She credits these values for her achievements.

However, she said in some households, children may not have the support system that she did, so that is where the community has to "step in and stand in the gap for the children". At the meeting, her empowering statement “Your environment does not dictate your potential” resonated with attendees, who were impassioned by her vision and enthusiasm.

Robin Bartleman, Chair, School Board of Broward County, said, “Our collective partnerships with the Urban League of Broward County benefits thousands of children and families throughout the county. It is another example of the value and effectiveness of working closely together with community organizations, like the Urban League, with a particular focus on Children and education.”

Touted as one of the best managed not-for-profit organizations in Broward County, Smith-Baugh’s track record as a change-agent and problem solver has assisted in increasing the League’s effectiveness, credibility and scope of services. “Dr. Smith-Baugh is working with a tremendous amount of energy to continue the league’s work of having an impact as one of the strongest Urban League affiliates in the country,” said Lauderhill Commissioner Dale Holness, who was also present at the meeting.

Dr. Smith-Baugh has been the CEO of the Urban League of Broward County since 2006, but has been a part of the organization since 1996. Prior to joining the league she worked in government relations, advocacy and youth development. Since her tenure, program revenue has increased 127 percent from 2.1 million dollars to 4.8 million dollars. The staff has also increased to 100 full-time and part-time employees.