PQ Business Services

Penny Smith is a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®), IDI® (Intercultural Development Instrument) Qualified Administrator, and co-creator of the “Decolonizing Data and Language” workshop. She is the founder and president of PQ Business Services while also leading the Policy and Leadership Department at Erikson Institute as the director of learning and impact where she is focused on developing capacity-building learning models that activate a base of committed Illinois leaders who can protect and increase investments in early childhood; contribute to building back the early childhood system; and amplify awareness of the importance of early childhood locally, statewide and nationally. As a consultant for American Medical Association, she helped launch the inaugural Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship, a collaborative educational initiative to empower physician-led advocacy that advances equity and removes barriers to optimal health for marginalized people and communities. The fellowship mobilizes physicians to be part of the next generation of advocacy leaders, driving meaningful policy and structural changes that produce equity and justice in the communities they serve.

 

She has been building training programs from the ground up for over 25 years. Stand-out programs such as the Barbara Bowman Leadership Fellows and the Executive Fellows have cultivated a pipeline of diverse leaders who examine racial equity issues and change policy to increase access to the programs and services all children and families need. She also builds partnerships with organizations across the U.S., seeking consultation on workshops designed with a racial equity lens and based in adult-learning theory. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Science degree in training and development from the University of St. Francis.