Homecoming
Ms. Alumni 2023-24
Alisia D. Smith-Rucker is a results-driven servant leader, business professional, consultant, and speaker. She has spent the last 9 years as a Veterinary Regional Sales Manager with Royal Canin, a division of Mars Petcare, managing direct reports serving nearly 2000 Veterinary hospitals from Virginia to Connecticut. In addition to her managerial responsibilities, in June 2020, Alisia founded the Royal Canin Black Advisory Council Associate Resource Group to help give fellow associates a voice. Additionally, she works closely with the Mars Talent and Recruitment team to identify talent at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). As a result, Alisia was recognized by Mars for her change-making efforts.
A 1994 graduate of NSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Alisia gives a substantial amount of her time, talent and treasurers to the University, its current students and the Norfolk State University Alumni Association. Currently, she is in her second term as President of the NSUAA’s 2023 Chapter of the Year (35+) award recipient, the Alumni Cheerleaders Chapter. She also serves as Vice President of the Greater Northern Virginia Spartan Foundation and is former First Vice President of the NSUAA.
She holds dual master’s degrees from Webster University in human resource management and acquisitions and procurement management, and certifications in Inclusion and Diversity, Business Strategy, Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving and Leadership from Cornell University and the McKinsey Leadership Academy Management Accelerator Program. Alisia is a proud active member of the Northern Virginia Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she has held numerous leadership roles. She is also a community volunteer—both in her Northern Virginia community and her hometown of Norfolk—and is a faithful member of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Most of all, Alisia is devoted to her husband Reggie and children Simone, James, Trey, Avery, Harper and Bengal fur baby Owen.
She is guided by Luke 1:37 — Faith, it does not make things easy, it makes them possible.
