Joshua J. Smith
| Joshua J. Smith | |
| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Government official, entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (2025–2026); founder of the Fourth Purpose Foundation and Prison Life Media |
| Website | fourthpurpose.org |
Joshua J. Smith is an American entrepreneur and prison-reform advocate who served as Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from June 2025 until his resignation in August 2026. He was the first person appointed to senior leadership of the Bureau after having previously served time in its custody.[1][2] In the role he helped oversee 122 federal facilities, roughly 36,000 staff, and the care of more than 156,000 incarcerated people.[3][1]
Before entering government, Smith built and sold a residential-services business in Tennessee and used the proceeds to fund criminal-justice reform work. He founded the Fourth Purpose Foundation, investing roughly $10 million of his own money in research on correctional culture and staff wellness, and launched Prison Life Media in 2024 to publish stories from inside corrections.[3][4] He delivered the keynote address at the 2026 White Collar Conference.[1]
Early life and criminal conviction
Smith was born into poverty and raised by a single mother; he was sent away from home at age 11 because of abuse, and had been convicted of ten felonies before turning 16.[4] By age 21 he had been convicted for involvement in drug trafficking.[4]
He was arrested in 1996 in Nashville in a drug conspiracy that prosecutors said imported marijuana and cocaine from Texas, and he pleaded guilty in April 1998 after providing what the government described as substantial assistance, including testimony against a co-defendant whose sentence was roughly double his own.[2] He was sentenced to five years, which he served at a minimum-security federal facility in Kentucky, and was released in 2003.[2][3] In January 2021, on the final day of his first term, President Donald Trump granted Smith a full pardon; Tennessee Governor Bill Lee had endorsed the request, citing Smith's work on the state's Criminal Justice Reinvestment Task Force.[3]
Career
Business career
After his release, Smith founded Master Dry, a basement-waterproofing company in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2008, and expanded it into foundation services under the umbrella firm Master Service Companies.[2] The business grew to roughly $30 million in revenue with more than 180 employees, including formerly incarcerated workers, and was sold in 2019.[3][2]
Fourth Purpose Foundation
Smith established the Fourth Purpose Foundation in 2019 with the stated mission of making prison a place of transformation rather than mere rehabilitation.[4] He has invested roughly $10 million of his own money in research on correctional culture and staff wellness, and the foundation publishes a values-based wellness plan for correctional agencies; news reporting on his appointment placed his seeding of the foundation at more than $8 million.[3][2] The foundation's programs are organized around staff resources, incarcerated-person engagement, and community engagement, and all of its resources are provided free of charge.[4]
Prison Life Media
In 2024 the foundation launched Prison Life Media, which publishes first-person stories from correctional staff and incarcerated people in order to challenge stigmas around prisons and support reentry.[4][3]
Federal Bureau of Prisons
In June 2025, Smith was named Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the agency's second-highest post; he was sworn in on June 9, 2025, serving under Director William K. Marshall III.[2][3] Prison Legal News reported that he was the first former prisoner hired for any position at the Bureau.[2] In the role he oversaw, together with the Director, 122 federal facilities, six regional offices, two staff training centers, 22 residential reentry management offices, about 36,000 staff, and roughly 156,000 incarcerated people.[3] His appointment drew a mixed reaction from Bureau staff and incarcerated people, with some praising the pairing of a reform advocate with a career corrections executive and others questioning his lack of large-agency management experience.[3] Smith resigned from the Bureau in August 2026.[1]
White Collar Conference
Smith delivered the keynote address at the third annual White Collar Conference, held virtually on October 10, 2026.[1][3]
Related biographies
- Andrew Carnegie — Industrialist
- Steve Schwarzman — Businessman
- Jeff Grant — Attorney, Minister & Support Group Founder
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "White Collar Conference 2026". White Collar Support Group. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Former Prisoner, Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP". Prison Legal News. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 "Joshua J. Smith". Prisonpedia. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Fourth Purpose Foundation". Fourth Purpose Foundation. Retrieved 2026-09-29.