TEAM / Kira Smith
Kira Smith joined The Southern Group in 2024 after an over decade long career spent deeply immersed in the Florida higher education budget process. From her start as an intern in the Governor’s Office to her most recent four years as Budget Chief for the vitally important House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Kira has made innumerable contacts in the Florida Legislature, the executive branch, and within Florida’s universities and colleges.
After graduating from Florida State University in 2009, Kira landed an internship in the Governor’s Office and began her rapid ascent through the Florida policy and budgeting world. In just a two-year span, she was promoted three times, eventually becoming a key analyst in the education unit of the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget.
From there, she made the leap to the legislative branch, securing a position with the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education in 2013. In that position, she wrote bill language and provided budget analysis for Senate members.
After eight legislative sessions in that position, she ascended to her most recent role as budget chief, in which she produced budget recommendations, managed the work of the committee staff, and developed conference strategy.
Kira will serve as a subject matter expert in higher education and the legislative appropriations process.
Kira is a native Floridian raised in Levy County and now resides in Tallahassee with her husband and two children.
