Erik Smith

Erik C. Smith, MBA. is currently the Managing Member of Inclusivity, LLC (formerly Carlton Consulting, LLC), a cultural competence and marketing advisory firm with offices now based in Florida, specializing in Cultural Competence, Community Relations and Cross-cultural Marketing for both for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. Most recently Erik was the Cultural Competence and Inclusion Director at Valpak where he developed a cultural competency rubric to show how diversity, coupled with inclusion, creates opportunities for innovation, drives revenue, and enhances recruitment, retention, and professional development of employees and suppliers. Previously he was the Executive Director of The Jeff Johnson Institute for Urban Development whose focus was to train young urban professionals for leadership. Concurrently, he served as the COO of Jeff’s Nation, a consulting firm with offices in Maryland and Ohio whose specialty is media and message consulting. Moreover, he has consulted for numerous Fortune 100 advertising agencies, public relations firms, and consumer product companies globally. He has over 25 years of experience as a corporate finance and marketing professional. Before founding Carlton Consulting, LLC in Cleveland, Ohio, Erik led all marketing functions for 216 Entertainment and Recording, LLC, a small cutting-edge agency that specialized in youth and ethnic marketing where he explained how popular culture trends originate in urban culture. Additionally, his non-profit experience began at sixteen as an artist in residence for a small arts-in-education organization in Connecticut. Since then he has held roles in various small to large organizations as a Chairperson, Managing Director, Treasurer, and Strategic Consultant and a graduate of Leadership Pinellas. He served as a member of the Board of Governors for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and is currently the Chair of the Pinellas County Urban League. He is also a 2014 graduate of Leadership Pinellas. Lastly, Erik’s educational background consists of a Master’s in Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University. He also recently became a first-time father.