LaRachelle Samuel-Smith Managing Director Table SALT Group

LaRachelle S. Smith holds the position of Managing Director with the Table SALT Group, a Student Leadership Development Institute. Prior to founding and managing her own boutique consulting firm, her previous position was Director of Marketing, Communications and Information Technology for Land-Grant Programs at Prairie View A&M University where she was responsible for measuring the impact and communicating the value of agricultural-related, research-based outreach programming for nearly 8 million limited-resource Texans. She managed the University’s student-focused leadership development program to address the gap in retention rates and drives career advancement opportunities for graduates focused on the state’s thriving agriculture industry.

LaRachelle has held a number of key positions, including administrative posts as: Interim Department Chair, Computer Drafting and Design, ITT Technical Institute; Task Force Chair of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences’ Five Year Strategic Plan, Vice- Chair of the University Staff Advisory Counsel; and the Chair, Leadership and Management Committee -- Association for Communication Excellence. She was elected in 2019 as Vice President of the organization for a four-year term. Boeing Aircraft appointed LaRachelle as Senior Design Engineer on the front end of NASA’s International Space Station program.

Smith has focused her research and teaching interests in the areas of leadership development and the effects of learning disabilities on career success; non-cognitive skills necessary for successful leadership, the impact of institutional culture on mentoring, and diversity in the workplace. She was also the host of an award-winning nationally syndicated radio program and editor-in-chief of a regional news magazine.

Among the honors Smith has received: Presidential Scholarship recipient at Prairie View A&M University, the Cooperative Extension Program recognized her as a Distinguished Service Early Career Award recipient for promoting excellence in community outreach; in 2014, she was recognized as a LEAD21 Scholar and chosen to deliver the farewell statement at the graduation ceremony among top land-grant university administrators.

LaRachelle received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Prairie View A&M University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. A native Texan, LaRachelle the mother of two, married to an active duty Senior Officer in the U.S. Army.