Komal Bazaz Smith

Skills

Impact portfolio strategy & oversight • Program design, scaling & optimization • Impact measurement, metrics & dashboards • Learning & evaluation frameworks • Change management • Cross-functional leadership • Board & leadership reporting • Innovation platforms • Stakeholder engagement & partnerships

About

Komal Bazaz Smith is a senior impact and program strategy leader with more than 24 years of experience designing, leading, and scaling mission-driven impact portfolios across nonprofit, global development, and public–private organizations. Her work focuses on translating mission into coherent programs, defining meaningful outcomes, and strengthening how organizations learn, adapt, and deliver results for the communities they serve. She is known for her ability to guide teams through complexity while maintaining clarity of purpose, accountability, and human-centered impact.
Throughout her career, Komal has partnered closely with CEOs, Boards, funders, and program leaders to strengthen program effectiveness, measurement, and scalability. She has led multi-year, multi-country portfolios spanning education, workforce development, digital inclusion, health systems, and institutional capacity building. Her leadership emphasizes strong theories of change, practical impact measurement, and continuous learning systems that improve decision-making and ensure programs remain responsive to evolving needs.
Most recently, Komal served as Chief Business Officer at Global Cyber Alliance, where she guided impact strategy and learning across a global portfolio of education and capacity-building initiatives advancing digital resilience. Previously, she spent eight years at DAI Global, including as Project Director for a $25M USAID-funded partnership operating across 20 countries, where she built and led impact portfolios focused on skills development, policy reform, and institutional strengthening. Earlier roles at Results for Development Institute, Arabella Philanthropic Advisors, and Booz Allen Hamilton further shaped her expertise in program design, evaluation, and systems change.
In addition to her professional work, Komal has served as an adjunct professor at American University, teaching graduate-level courses on monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive learning. She is deeply engaged in community leadership, including school board committee service and local initiatives focused on civic connection and digital wellbeing. Across all contexts, she brings a values-driven, evidence-informed approach to helping organizations deliver durable, meaningful impact.