I nominate CDR Reginald O. Smith for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award. He is a leader and advocate for nurse-lead programs given he is a program director and subject matter expert in FDA/CDER on trade secret information, confidential commercial information, personal privacy information and inadvertent disclosure. The FDA relies on his strong regulatory, legal and leadership backgrounds to hold drug manufacturers accountable for establishment inspection report and remote regulatory assessment findings. This advances the FDA’s public health mission by ensuring consumer safety and is essential to the drug approval process.

CDR Smith is passionate about mentoring and supporting nurses, present and future. He serves yearly on the NPAC CV Review team and has personally mentored two graduate nursing students. He serves yearly as a reviewer for HRSA’s National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program which awards scholarships to graduate and undergraduate nursing students in financial need.

CDR Smith is especially passionate about strengthening workplace well-being. During his tenure as Nurse PAC Chair, he partnered with the Florida Nurses Association to host a lecture entitled “Violence Against Nurses” which promotes “Protection from Harm,” the first essential of workplace well-being. He promotes the second essential of workplace well-being, “Connection and Community,” by being active in Baltimore PACE, participating in community health fairs in the MD area, and working with officers from the various PHS categories to recruit nurses and other professionals. This serves to promote a culture of belonging, trust, and teamwork.