Taifa Smith Butler is executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where she leads and inspires the GBPI team to accomplish GBPI’s mission and vision to improve economic opportunity for all Georgians. She is a problem solver, tireless champion and passionate spokesperson for working families, equity and investing early in children—Georgia’s greatest asset. Taifa brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public policy research and data analysis in the public, nonprofit and private sectors. Prior to joining the GBPI team in 2011, she served as the policy and communications director for Georgia Family Connection Partnership where she co-managed the Georgia KIDS COUNT project and monitored public policy and its impact on children, families and communities. Taifa has served on various local, state and national committees and boards. She is member of Leadership Georgia Class of 2016 and is a Rockwood Leadership Institute Leading from theInside Out Fellow, Class of 2017.Taifa holds a bachelor’s in politics with economics from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s in public management and policy from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, with a concentration in economic development and financial management.