Model United Nations Institute by Best Delegate

Laurabeth Goldsmith (she/her)

Chief Executive Officer

Laurabeth Goldsmith is the Chief Executive Officer at Best Delegate Model United Nations. With over 20 years of experience in Model UN, Laurabeth is dedicated to empowering youth to become confident and collaborative global citizens and has seen Model UN help students grow and make friends who care about the world.  

Over the past decade at Best Delegate, Laurabeth has played a pivotal role in transforming the organization into a global education leader. She has established more than 75 partnerships with governments, the UN, school districts, and businesses, including collaborations with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, IDEA Public Schools, and the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. Laurabeth has also served as a Mentor and led Model UN training for thousands of students and educators worldwide, including delivering educator training at the United Nations in Vienna and managing numerous in-person and virtual Model UN Institute summer programs and workshops.

Laurabeth’s Model UN journey began in high school and continued at Emory University, where she served as President of the Model UN team, elevating it to one of the top 15 teams in the country. Her dedication and skill earned her numerous awards. Before joining Best Delegate, Laurabeth contributed her expertise to the Carter Center and Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida.

Laurabeth holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Emory University, where she also completed the Community Building and Social Change Fellowship. She was awarded a full scholarship to participate in the Semester At Sea Program, traveling the world to study gender inequality and teach human rights and self-defense to girls across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Laurabeth also obtained a Master’s in Management from Harvard University.

Laurabeth is a passionate advocate for gender equality and has volunteered with Girl Scouts for more than 20 years. She is a proud mother of two young children who love globe time and learning about the world. In her free time, Laurabeth enjoys kayaking with her family, traveling (she has visited all 7 continents and more than 60 countries), volunteering at her kids’ school, and hiking.

Logan Smith (he/him)

Senior Programming Manager

Logan Smith is the Senior Programming Manager at Best Delegate.

He has been involved in Model United Nations for 8+ years, and has worked with Best Delegate to deliver the Model United Nations Institute since 2018 as a MUN mentor, Residential Counselor, and Program Manager.

Logan has taught Model United Nations to over 1,000 students through Best Delegate, leading MUN trainings for students and advisors in multiple countries. Logan previously served as the President and Head Delegate of his Model UN Team at the University of Miami, and has helped organize multiple national MUN conferences, including the 2020 WFUNA International Model United Nations Conference. Today, Logan works to refine Best Delegate’s programming to ensure it meets the individualized needs of our students.

Logan graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Voice Performance and an additional major in Political Science, and holds a Master’s of Science from the London School of Economics in International Development Studies. After completing his education, Logan spent three years working at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France, conducting evaluations of the globe’s 36 largest development and humanitarian agencies and Multilateral Development Banks. While at the OECD, Logan organized multiple High-Level Roundtable discussions at United Nations offices in Geneva and New York, which brought together speakers including then President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, and UN Permanent Representatives from Italy, Indonesia, and Costa Rica, among others.

In addition to his role at Best Delegate, Logan works as a freelance evaluator reviewing the work of UN agencies in various country offices. In his free time, Logan is a fan of long-distance running, and loves to travel to find new places to run, hike, surf, and swim.