Mari Frank Interviews Robert Ellis Smith, Journalist and Attorney

Robert Ellis Smith is a journalist who uses his training as an attorney to report on the individual's right to privacy. Since 1974, he has published Privacy Journal, a monthly newsletter on privacy in a computer age based in Providence, R.I. From 1970 to 1973, Smith was the assistant director of the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Prior to that, he had nine years of experience as a news reporter and editor with the Detroit Free Press, Trenton Times, The Southern Courier, and Newsday. He has taught at Harvard College, University of Maryland, Emerson College, and Brown University. A 1962 graduate of Harvard College, Smith received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1976. He served as a member of the District of Columbia Human Rights Commission until 1986. In 1997, Vice President Gore named him to the Civil Liberties Panel of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. From 1996 to 2002, he served as vice chair of the Coastal Resources Management Council, which protects the 400 miles of Rhode Island coastline. www.privacyjournal.net