Judy Smith, the crisis management expert who inspired Olivia Pope on the popular ABC drama series “Scandal,” is coming to UK on Tuesday to speak about the challenges that come with being a woman.

The lecture will begin at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall, and will launch the “Women of the World” lecture series sponsored by the Student Activities Board Multicultural Affairs Committee.

Smith will be speaking about “her success story and what obstacles she had to overcome, especially as a black woman,” according to Kristyn Cherry, director of Multicultural Affairs.

Smith’s personal website bills her as “America’s number one crisis management expert.” She worked on the 1991 Gulf War, Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas and the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998.

As a “crisis management advisor,” Smith has consulted for a number of celebrity clients and professional athletes over the last decade.

Smith has also provided strategic advice to Fortune 500 companies and communications advice to government organizations and cities, according to her website.

Before she founded Smith & Company, Smith served as a partner at several public relations firms in Washington, D.C. She was the senior vice president of Corporate Communications at NBC and also helped to launch MSNBC, one of the first cable news stations.

Smith was also appointed special assistant and deputy press secretary to former president George H. W. Bush in 1991.

According to her website, Smith graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Relations and received a degree from the American University Washington College of Law.

Smith is the co-executive producer of “Scandal” and advises the show on crisis management.

SAB contacted Smith’s agent about speaking to UK students after she was selected during SAB’s spring 2014 All-Student Survey.

“She loves coming to schools and sharing her story,” Cherry said.

Smith is the first lecturer of the “Women of the World” lecture series, which, according to the SAB’s website, celebrates a diverse group of women in various forms of power.

The event is free and open to the public.

STAFF REPORT

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