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Deborah Smith, a retired federal judge and former prosecutor and journalist, is passionate about the importance of public media and the insightful and balanced reporting it provides. She currently serves as a board member of Alaska Public Media, serving as Chair of the Board Improvement Committee.

Smith served as a federal magistrate judge in the District of Alaska and as a federal prosecutor in Alaska, ultimately serving as acting U.S. Attorney. Other positions held within the U.S. Department of Justice include Deputy Chief of the Environmental Crime Section in Washington, D.C.; Director of the New England Bank Fraud Taskforce, Boston; and Senior Litigation Counsel of the Criminal Fraud Section. She began her legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Alaska.

Before attending law school at Northeastern University in Boston, Smith was the Education Editor of the Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel. She was the editor of the University of Florida student newspaper, with a circulation of 30,000, the year the newspaper became independent of the university. And she interned at the Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel.

Smith has been active in community and professional organizations at the national, state and local level. She has served as President and board member of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association (FMJA); Chair, International Committee of the FMJA; Chair and board member of the Ninth Circuit Court Magistrate Judges Executive Board; Chair and board member of the Alaska World Affairs Council; Chair, Joint Coordination Group of Antiterrorism Council of Alaska; Co-chair of the Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission; member of the Alaska Land Mobile Radio Executive Committee and member of the Downtown Rotary Club.

As a judge, Smith provided training and consultation with judges in Zambia, Azerbaijan and East Timor. As a prosecutor, she also taught federal agents at Quantico, Virginia and Glynco, Georgia.