Dave Smith and his wife Kathleen moved from New Jersey to Darien in July 2025. Dave was raised in Stamford and graduated from Stamford Catholic High School. He received a B.A. in political science from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, an M.A. in Latin American studies from Tulane University and an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a focus in marketing.
Dave started his career in 1975 with General Motors in New York City. He then joined Sterling Drug Company (later purchased by Kodak); after working in its International Division in the New York City headquarters, he had overseas assignments in Mexico, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. In 1981, he joined American Cyanamid Company (now part of Pfizer) , in its Wayne, N.J. headquarters. During his 14-year career at American Cyanamid, “la familia Smith” lived in in Puerto Rico and Madrid, Spain. The family has fond memories of living overseas, and it’s no surprise that Dave speaks fluent Spanish. He worked for Mark E. Smith & Associates in Stamford from 2001–2011, and from 2013–2016 while also serving as an adjunct marketing and management professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., Concordia College in Bronxville, N.Y., and Bergen Community College in Paramus N.J.
He retired in 2019 after serving for three years as executive director of The Leo House, a Catholic guesthouse in New York City established in 1889 by a papal certification from
Pope Leo XIII, for whom it is named. As executive director, Dave was tasked with enhancing brand recognition. One of the key means to advance that goal was an annual
Pope Leo XIII Award Gala, a fundraising event at which the Pope Leo XIII Award was given to Catholic clergy, religious and lay persons or organizations recognized as embodying the ideals and values cherished by Pope Leo XIII.
Dave and Kathleen have three children and have been blessed with nine grandchildren.
He still cherishes his interaction and dialogue with students and intends to return to academics as a college professor.
