Ted Smith

Roles: Subject

Ted Smith is founder and former Executive Director of Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, a grassroots environmental coalition formed in 1982 in response to environmental pollution caused by electronics manufacturing in Silicon Valley, California. Ted is also co-founder and Chair of the steering committee of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which is working to promote life-cycle producer responsibility within the high-tech electronics industry. In addition, Ted is co-founder and Coordinator of the International Campaign for Responsible Technology (ICRT), an international network committed to working for the development of sustainable, non-polluting technologies. He has served on the boards of several environmental non-profit organizations and has been an environmental stakeholder in formal processes convened by Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Best Buy and Sprint. Ted was recognized by the Dalai Lama for his environmental leadership. In 2006 he was named a Purpose Prize Fellow. In 2008 he was named “Environmentalist of the Year” by the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters. He is a widely published author and respected speaker, and is co-editor of “Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry” published by Temple University Press, 2006 He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Stanford Law School and was a VISTA Volunteer in Washington, DC from 1967 – 1969.