After earning an Associate degree in Liberal Arts, from Kingsborough Community College, Mr. Smiley was recruited as a Risk Consultant for Regional Reporting, a nationwide consulting firm. This exposed him to consulting and working with clients such as AIG, Giuliani Partners, LLC and the Trump Organization. Mr. Smiley went on to study, while working fulltime time, at the City College of New York, CUNY. While at City College Gregory developed a passion for community organizing; he organized and implemented the first NAACP chapter in the City University of New York (CUNY), where he also served as the first president. In this capacity, Mr. Smiley planned & hosted events that drew leaders, such as Ambassador Andrew Young and Congressman Charles Rangel. A major initiative resulting from the established chapter was “Access to U.N.”, which gave City College student’s access to the United Nations to conduct legal, scientific and sociological research with the “Southern Diaspora Research and DevelopmentCenter”.

During the spring of 2006 Mr. Smiley received the D’Agostino Greenberg scholarship in Law and Public Policy, allowing him to intern in New York City Hall Media/Legal department. Under the supervision of Matthew Tollin General Counsel and General Manager of radio operations, Mr. Smiley conducted legal research on FCC rulings, court adjudications and researched potential board members of New York City Media Group. In addition, working at the Institute for Research on the African Diaspora, Americas and the Caribbean “IRADAC” subsequently lead Mr. Smiley to be accepted as a 2007 New York State Assembly Intern, where he worked on public policy. The New York State Assembly also sponsored Gregory to further his education in policy and legal research, under the tutelage of Assembly resident professors’ Dr. Helen R. Desfosses and Dr. Dennis C. Smith. In the internship class he was recognized for his leadership abilities by Governor Paterson and Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver.

Shortly thereafter Mr. Smiley was recruited to The City University of New York Office of Government Relations, in Albany New York where he currently work in conjunction with the New York State Legislature, Governor’s office and the Division of Budget regarding University affairs. On a leave of absence, Mr. Smiley served as Special Assistant to Nevada State Director of Obama for America, Terence D. Tolbert. Mr. Smiley aided in strategy development, coalition building, organizing and indentifying areas for “Get Out The Vote” initiatives.

Mr. Smiley was a New York City Auxiliary Police Officer, in East New York Brooklyn. This gave him the opportunity to interact with at risk youths and other individuals in his community. As an Officer, Mr. Smiley received commendations and merit awards from New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and members of the State Legislature for his service. Most recently, he was featured in a publication titled “CUNY Matters” for his Personal and academic accomplishments. He is the current Chair of the NYS Young Democrats Caucus of Color; he hopes to bring a new passion of, young, minority involvement in the Democratic Party.