Leading With Trust Meet Graham Frankel Smith ’02, the first female mayor of Mountain Brook, Alabama
Graham Frankel Smith ’02 never dreamed of a career in public service. She wanted to study journalism in college, which brought her to Washington and Lee University. Now, 24 years later, she is the first woman to serve as mayor of Mountain Brook, Alabama, in the municipality’s 84-year history.
From Roslyn, New York, on Long Island, Smith was drawn to Washington and Lee after spending a summer on campus through Summer Scholars, a four-week program directed by Mimi Elrod, the former first lady of W&L, following her junior year of high school. She remembered seeing the sign for the Graham-Lees residence hall and feeling like it was meant to be because her name is Graham Leigh.
Studying journalism allowed her to get off campus and meet people from across the Shenandoah Valley. Although she was raised Episcopalian, Smith’s father is Jewish, and she became W&L Hillel’s first student president. During her four years at W&L, she played an important role in nurturing the Jewish community and building connections on campus. She was also a member of the Kappa Delta sorority.
Through these roles, Smith enjoyed meeting and talking to people both within and beyond the campus community. She also met her husband, Harrison Smith ’01, at W&L.
“W&L has given so much to me,” Smith said. “Not only did I meet my husband there, but also some of the greatest friends I have ever known.”
After graduating from Washington and Lee, Smith earned her MBA from the University of Alabama in 2007. She worked as a special campaigns coordinator in advancement at the University of Alabama before serving as a legislative director for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby.
Smith settled in Mountain Brook with her husband, who grew up there. Over the past several years, she served in multiple volunteer roles, including serving on the PTO for Cherokee Bend Elementary School and the Mountain Brook Planning Commission, Editorial Board and City Council.
A city of about 22,000, Mountain Brook sits adjacent to Birmingham. Last year, Mountain Brook’s mayor, Stuart Welch, announced he would not seek another term, and Smith decided to run for office. She ran unopposed and took office as Mountain Brook’s first female mayor in November 2025.
Although Smith has been such an active volunteer in Mountain Brook, she still felt a degree of trepidation when she announced her campaign because she had not grown up there. But her courage and commitment to community drove her forward.
“If you’re genuine and prove yourself trustworthy, that’s what matters most,” Smith said. “I had volunteered for years on other committees, so I think the people knew about the kind of work I did and who I was — that lent a level of background trust.”
Mountain Brook is a unique municipality in that its elected officials are unpaid volunteers.
“I don’t think of myself as a politician,” Smith said. “I truly think of myself as a community volunteer.”
Much of her work in her first year in office has focused on maintaining continuity from previous administrations. She took office with a new city manager, police chief and finance director, which meant there were several people learning new positions.
Smith’s day-to-day work ensures the city and public works run smoothly. She noted that many people don’t think about their municipal government unless something goes wrong; her job is to prevent that from happening.
“I view my role as a servant in municipal government as I should be invisible but indispensable,” Smith said.
She stressed the importance of honesty and trust in building community — values she learned and adopted while at Washington and Lee.
“W&L changed me as a person,” she said. “That level of trust made me realize that it all comes from the inside, that I wanted to be a person of character and that the highest regard someone could give me was to say, ‘I trust Graham.’”
“W&L changed me as a person. That level of trust made me realize…that I wanted to be a person of character and that the highest regard someone could give me was to say, ‘I trust Graham.’” – Graham Frankel Smith ’02
With several months in office under her belt, Smith has found being a willing listener to be one of her most important leadership tools.
“It does not bother me when someone calls me and has a complaint or needs something,” Smith said. “A lot of people just want to be heard and know that someone is not only listening to them, but processing what they’re saying, giving it appropriate consideration and validating that their voice matters.”
Although she never envisioned a career in public service, Smith finds fulfilment in her everyday interactions and conversations.
“This position is about liking people,” she said. “That’s why I was a journalist — I’m generally curious.”
There is a large community of W&L alumni in the Mountain Brook and greater Birmingham area — the president of the Mountain Brook City Council, Billy Pritchard ’76, is a W&L alumnus — which has encouraged W&L’s values represented by the Honor System and Speaking Tradition to take root in Mountain Brook.
“It pays dividends in the world, not only for other people but for one’s own well-being,” Smith said. “Cultural connection, conversation and community are the backbone of a quality life. When you are an honorable human being and are a person who communes with others, you’re going to have a good life.”
