Wooster Alum Builds Career In Social Impact, Entertainment

Chadwick Smith, a graduate of The College of Wooster, has launched a dynamic career as an impact strategist with Values Partnerships, the nation’s largest Black-owned social impact, marketing and insights agency.

Smith joined the company as a student fellow in 2021 before being hired full time the following year. Today, he works on campaigns for high-profile clients including Goldman Sachs, Chime, Oprah Winfrey and Pope Francis—just a few of the names represented on the company’s roster.

As an impact strategist, Smith juggles a range of responsibilities. His portfolio includes oversight of a $4 million Google fund, development of targeted marketing strategies for film campaigns, and copyediting of a company e-newsletter that reaches more than 7,000 subscribers.

Recently, Smith led a team in curating a live town hall panel discussion titled “Clips and Conversations” to promote the Netflix Black horror film The Deliverance, directed by Lee Daniels and released fall 2024. The panel explored the film’s religious themes with a distinguished group of Black religious scholars and Daniels himself.

The event was hosted by theologian and author Candice Benbow. Smith selected the panelists, including Dr. Nichole Phillips, one of his seminary professors, and Dr. Teddy Reeves, curator of religion at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“The most inspiring part of my job is knowing that I delivered,” Smith said. “After the panel, I learned how much Lee Daniels loved the work that I did. That, and hearing from those who attended that they enjoyed the evening—including a fellow Posse Atlanta alumnus in the audience.”

Smith’s success with the Netflix panel opened the door to support faith marketing strategies for two additional film projects: The Piano Lesson, an adaptation directed by Malcolm Washington, and Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight, which received a 2025 Oscar nomination.

“I plan to continue to help drive impact and marketing for Black communities as it relates to entertainment,” Smith said. “Working on some faith-related movies has been really fun and sometimes difficult—but I am up for the challenge. I look forward to continuing to show Hollywood that our communities want to consume projects that are for us and by us.”