T. Dallas Smith, founder and CEO at T. Dallas Smith & Company and member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, will deliver the keynote address at the 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast. The event will be held at 8 a.m. on January 16 in the Tate Grand Hall

Smith began his commercial real estate career in 1982 at Atlanta Air Center Realty under the guidance of Thomas W. Tift Jr. as leasing and management representative for the portfolio. In 1989, he became the first African American broker at Cushman & Wakefield of Georgia. His affiliation with the company opened doors for many minority brokers.

In 1995, he pioneered the brokerage division for H.J. Russell & Company, an African American-owned construction and management firm, where he served as vice president of the brokerage division. In 2006, with the blessing of the late Herman J. Russell, Smith opened T. Dallas Smith & Company, specializing in tenant representation.

 TDS&Co has led projects across the country with metrics exceeding more than 8 million square feet of tenant and buyer representation in office and industrial space and 5,000 acres of land acquisitions. The team at TDS&Co has more than 150 years of combined real estate experience and has collectively worked on assignments in over 40 states exceeding $15 billion in aggregate value.

Smith, a Georgia State University alumnus, is the chair of the Real Estate and Facilities Committee for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. He is the 2023 president of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, the first Black president in its history.  He also serves on the boards for the Georgia Research Alliance, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs and the University System of Georgia Real Estate Foundation Manager, LLC.  Beginning in 2024, Smith will serve as chair for the Westside Future Fund, vice chair for the Board of Regents and has recently been elected to Georgia Power’s Board of Directors.

He has been awarded numerous honors including Atlanta Most Admired CEO in 2021 and 2017, Atlanta Business League 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year & 2016 Men of Influence, Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors 2018 Realtor of the Year, Atlanta Magazine’s “Atlanta 500” for 2023, 2022 and 2021, Georgia Trend Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Georgians for 2022 and 2021 and Georgia 500 for 2022, as well as the Empire Board of Realtists 2018 Broker of the Year.

The Freedom Breakfast honors the legacy of the late civil rights leader and recognizes local community members dedicated to contributing to race relations, justice and human rights.

Tickets are $25 for individuals or $200 for a table of eight and are available for purchase online. Tickets will not be sold the day of the event, and initial ticket sales are limited to one table. To request additional tables, please email [email protected].