Mr. Keith D. Smith currently serves as the Chief Legal Officer for Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. He previously served as the Executive Director of Legal Services for Kansas City Public Schools. Prior to working for the school district, he led a team of five attorneys with the U.S. Dept of Education (OCR), investigating federal civil rights compliance matters across a six-state region. Mr. Smith is a retired Infantry Officer and attorney from the U.S. Marine Corps. He also served as an analyst for a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Controlled Activity working on Department of Defense matters related to security force assistance law, policy, and military doctrine. For the last several years, he has served multiple organizations as an Executive-Level Legal Counsel with experience in labor and employment, collective bargaining agreements/labor unions, education law, public procurement law / government contracting, litigation and investigation, and public sector ethics. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in Education and English and from the University of Texas School of Law with a Doctor of Jurisprudence. Lastly and most importantly, Keith considers himself a servant leader who is eternally grateful the Lord saved him at the age of 12 through Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Church of Quindaro. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married for over 30 years. They have three adult children, two of whom also served in the military (U.S. Army), and one who is a school teacher.