Janet Marie Smith

senior vice president, planning and development, Boston Red Sox

Janet Marie Smith was named senior vice president of planning and development for the Boston Red Sox in 2005. She served as vice president of planning and development for the Red Sox, since 2002, when the Henry-Werner Group purchased the franchise. She directs the renovation and area planning for Fenway Park. Since 2002, the team has added capacity, created space for fan amenities, and improved infrastructure and amenities in the ballpark and along surrounding streets. Smith brings her experiences in urban development and architecture, and passion for design to these endeavors as she has previous projects, including Atlanta's Philips Arena (1999) and Turner Field (1997), Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards (1992), Pershing Square in Los Angeles (1988), and Battery Park City in New York (1984). Smith's combined loves of baseball and city life served her well in Atlanta, where she was president of Turner Sports and Entertainment Development, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, and was vice president of planning and development for the Atlanta Braves baseball team. During her tenure, projects that came to fruition included the 20,000-seat Philips Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and NHL's Atlanta Thrashers; a renovation of the CNN Center; improvements to the area surrounding Centennial Olympic Park; and the design and conversion of Atlanta's 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field, the home of the Braves. Smith holds a master's degree in urban planning from City College of New York and a bachelor of architecture degree from Mississippi State University. She is an associate member of the Urban Land Institute, American Institute of Architects, and the American Planning Association. Major publications, including *the New York Times*, *New Yorker*, *Los Angeles Times*, *Chicago Tribune*, and *Esquire*, have cited her work.