MIDDLEBURY — Dan Smith, the current president of Vermont Technical College, has been hired as the next president and CEO of the Middlebury-based Vermont Community Foundation. 
Smith brings to the Community Foundation experience in public service, organizational planning and development, as well as a strong legal background, VFC officials said in a release Tuesday announcing his hiring.
Smith began his career as a law clerk in the Vermont Supreme Court and then practiced law at Downs Rachlin Martin before taking a position with the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, where he led economic development efforts while crafting state and regional strategies to make key industry sectors more successful.
He also worked for a business management consulting company in Stowe before moving on to serve as director of community relations and public policy at Vermont State Colleges, where he developed and executed the institution’s state and federal public policy agenda.
Most recently, Smith served as president of Vermont Technical College, where he has strengthened the college’s financial picture and led a reorganization of college curriculum while deepening partnerships with employers in key state industries.
“Dan Smith is a remarkable Vermonter,” said VFC Board Chair Tim Volk. “He has deep roots here and a keen understanding of our people and institutions. He will be a tremendous asset for the Community Foundation as it continues to grow its impact and profile in the state.”
Smith said that the foundation’s position in the community was one of the factors that most appealed to him. 
“For years, I have witnessed firsthand the impact of the Vermont Community Foundation,” he said. “I am thrilled to be joining a team of talented and committed people working to build the vitality of Vermont communities. The foundation is uniquely positioned to offer leadership and support philanthropic Vermonters across the state and I am looking forward to joining that effort.”
Smith, an eighth-generation Vermonter who grew up in central Vermont, holds a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law.
He currently lives in Randolph with his wife Lindsay, who just finished her medical residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. They will be relocating to the Burlington area where she is joining an obstetrics and gynecology practice as a physician.
Smith succeeds Stuart Comstock-Gay as leader of the VFC. Comstock-Gay announced in January that he was leaving his position at the helm of the Vermont Community Foundation in order to take a similar position in Delaware. 
Comstock-Gay helped substantially increase the VCF’s assets and programming over his seven years on the job.