Co-Founder: Melton Foundation
Founder: Peace X Peace | Playwright, Author
Three forces have driven Patricia Smith’s careers and life—the search for the underpinnings of existence, the imperative to create beauty, and the obligation to work for a better world. Each of these aspects must be connected—in communication with the others—for a harmonic world.
At 21, Patricia became the photographer for the Office of Economic Opportunity and created a photo archive of poverty and equity-building programs across the US. She taught photography at the Smithsonian Institution.
Patricia was an award-winning playwright and vintage quilt dealer with her collection of pre-1850 quilts exhibited by the Smithsonian American Arts Museum. In 2002 she founded the first social network non-government organization for women. Peace X Peace (“peace by peace”) connected women in the US for secure private conversations with women in more than 120 nations. She was editor, photographer, and interviewer for the book “Sixty Years, Sixty Voices: Israeli and Palestinian Women” and executive director of the documentary “Peace by Peace: Women on the frontlines” filmed in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Burundi, Argentina, and the US. The film debuted at the UN and was aired on PBS and throughout the world. Her social work continues now, trying to help threatened people out of Afghanistan.