Ms. Beatrice Smith is a native of Craven County and she served four terms as a member of the Craven County Board of Education. Smith completed a 33 year career with the Craven County School System where she spent 11 years teaching, five years as a director of the Every Student Succeeds Act Title I Reading Program for Craven County and 17 years as a principal. Ms. Smith also serves as a deaconess of St. Peter’s A.M.E. Zion Church.

Ms. Smith made history by being the first black female to hold a principalship in the integrated Craven County Schools system and she will once again make history by serving as the first black female Craven County Commissioner.

Ms. Smith currently serves on the following Craven County Boards:

• East Carolina Workforce Development Board
• Juvenile Crime Prevention Council
• Smart Start
• Craven Aging Planning Board