Parents are often an inspiration for their children, but it goes both ways. Children often inspire their parents. That’s the case for Ann Pickard and Dan Smith.
Smith and Pickard decided to have children later in life and ended up adopting brother and sister Nathan and Rebecca. During her career, Pickard served across the globe in a number of leadership roles in the energy industry, and so Smith retired from his job as a captain in the U.S. Navy and took care of the kids. “I was Captain Mom,” he says with a big smile.
The family was living in Nigeria for Ann’s job when Nathan, a kindergartener at an international school, was diagnosed with dyslexia. There were no programs to help him, so Smith and Pickard helped create some.
“So many kids with dyslexia—it’s not recognized until they’re in the sixth or seventh grade,” Pickard says. “By this time, they’re in lots of trouble, and a lot of them don’t graduate. And, so, the more we can get them help to be recognized earlier with some good reading support, the more likely they can be successful, too.”
“Nathan struggled all the way through his life,” Smith adds. “The first bit was figuring out he had some learning difficulty. We figured out right away that that is one of the best ways to help a child—to figure it out early.” With this help, Nathan went on to earn a degree as an auto mechanic and now lives in Los Angeles. Daughter Rebecca is currently a student at UW. Pickard and Smith are very proud of both their children.
Nathan inspired them to make a planned gift to UW of $2 million that supports the endowment Nathan’s Gift – A Literacy and Special Education Excellence Fund. Nathan’s Gift fosters excellence and provides financial support to the UW College of Education’s Literacy Research Center and Clinic and the Special Education Program. This support is focused on developing and implementing a statewide initiative for those with learning differences, especially dyslexia—catching it early to better help students.
Pickard and Smith’s other major gift was inspired by their journey as first-generation students. This outright and planned gift of more than $2 million establishes the Ann Pickard and Dan Smith President’s Endowed Scholarship for First-Generation Students.
“Neither of us had any help from our parents (for college),” Pickard says. “They just couldn’t afford it.”
The Pickard and Smith Scholarship supports those who are first-generation students from Wyoming. It provides a generous amount of support to each recipient and can be renewed up to three years. It is an important part of the UW President’s Endowed Scholarship Program, which provides opportunities to Wyoming’s top-performing high school and transfer students. “The most important thing in life is education,” Pickard says. “It is the one thing that enables you to break out of whatever class or whatever background you are and progress.”
Pickard and Smith are both self-described “military brats” who believe in the power of education to change lives. “Both of us have always put an emphasis on education,” Pickard says.
Pickard has been described by Fortune magazine as “the bravest woman in oil” and “one of the 50 most powerful women in business.” She retired as executive vice president for Shell in 2016.
Pickard was born in Wyoming but then moved around the country a lot while growing up. She returned to the state and graduated from Cheyenne East High School. She attended UW for two years before earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of California and a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania. Her long career as an executive with Mobil and then Shell includes overseeing development in the Arctic, Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, South America, and the United States.
Retired Captain Dan Smith graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a degree in electrical engineering. He went on to earn a master’s and an engineer’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. He served on surface ships, alternating tours on land and sea as a naval officer. He managed major acquisitions, and he served on five ships. He was the captain of the last ship, the USS Underwood. It had been his lifelong dream to command a ship.
Smith’s connection to Wyoming is through his grandmother, who lived on the South Fork outside of Cody for many decades. He has great memories of spending summers with her when he was growing up. “Fishing and time spent in Yellowstone were the highlights,” he says.
Pickard and Smith first met when they were both 15 at Edwards Air Force Base, where their fathers were stationed. They met again when Smith was attending the Naval Academy in Maryland but visiting his sister in California. “The rest is history,” Smith says.
With Pickard’s career promotions, the family lived in seven countries on five continents over 14 years, ending up in Houston, Texas. Now the couple has retired to Coronado, California, to a beautiful home on the ocean.
“With our philanthropy, we want to make the world a better place,” Pickard says. “Education is critically important, and the single best thing you can do for somebody is to help them move up in the world and have good opportunities.”