Annie K. Smith brings nearly two decades of experience in legal services, conflict resolution, mediation, facilitation, and organizational consulting to the Sports Conflict Institute as a Senior Practitioner. Her work helps individuals, teams, and organizations navigate complex disputes, strengthen communication, rebuild trust, and develop more constructive ways of working together. Her practice centers on conflict assessment, mediation, negotiation, conflict prevention, and the design and delivery of conflict-resolution training programs. A former nationally competitive dancer and team captain, Annie pairs extensive professional dispute-resolution experience with firsthand understanding of leadership, team dynamics, and the pressures of high-performance environments.

Throughout her career, Annie has supported government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector clients through complex, emotionally charged, and often highly contentious situations. As a former consulting firm principal and part-owner, she led multidisciplinary teams and managed a substantial portfolio of projects involving organizational challenges, competing interests, and collaborative decision-making. She has served as a court-connected mediator in Multnomah County, Oregon, conducting numerous mediations and helping parties identify mutually acceptable solutions, and as a board member of the Oregon Mediation Association, where she contributed to advancing the practice of conflict resolution. Her direct experience in sports includes serving as a conflict management consultant for Portland’s Rose City Rollers roller derby league, where she developed a peer mediation services program as part of her graduate studies, and contributing to an SCI organizational conflict assessment following an investigation.

Annie’s connection to competitive athletics spans more than 25 years of dance and dance team experience, including multiple UDA and NDA national championships as a dancer and team captain. Having lived the demands of competitive dance, she advocates for recognizing dance and dance teams as legitimate competitive sports and for ensuring their athletes receive the same consideration, resources, and support as those in more traditionally recognized sports. Her interest in the intersection of movement and conflict resolution led her to complete Move This World training, which incorporates dance and movement into classroom-based conflict resolution and social-emotional learning. Annie holds a Master of Science in Conflict Resolution from Portland State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hawai’i Pacific University, and additional credentials in mediation and project management. At SCI, she draws on her professional and athletic backgrounds to help sports organizations navigate conflict, strengthen leadership and communication, and cultivate healthier, more collaborative team environments.