CUNA announced Monday the appointment of Damon Smith as the Senior Director of Advocacy and Counsel. In his role at CUNA, Smith will contribute to regulatory advocacy issues for the organization, particularly relating to housing policy and finance issues. Smith brings extensive experience in property law and urban planning, which he gained through several senior public sector positions, work in the private sector and academia.

“The extensive work that Damon has done in the housing policy and real estate space is impressive and our team looks forward to leaning on his expertise to further support credit unions through meaningful regulatory change,” said CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer & Senior Counsel Elizabeth Eurgubian. “We are confident that he will play an instrumental role in our regulatory advocacy efforts as we bring credit union issues to the forefront of federal regulators and the administration.”

Prior to joining CUNA, Smith was the Partner at the Jenner and Block, LLP in Washington, D.C. where he provided counsel to corporations regarding complex matters involving compliance, government regulation and enforcement.

Smith also previously served as the acting general counsel for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he provided legal and policy guidance on a range of programs and activities and set the Department’s litigation strategy and regulatory agenda. From his experience at HUD, Smith gained extensive knowledge of banking and consumer regulations impacting the current housing finance environment.

Smith attended Harvard Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.