Jill Woodcome

Senior Vice President of Programs

Prior to “coming aboard” Smile Train, Jill served as Assistant Director of Operations at Harvard University, overseeing event support and day-to-day operations of the conference center at the Graduate School of Education. Jill developed the school-wide conference services department, overseeing events ranging from executive education to commencement.

After her daughter was born, Jill decided it was time to transition her passion for volunteer work into a career focused on changing children’s lives. She joined Smile Train in 2008, and since that time has traveled to many partner hospitals and witnessed the tremendous, life-changing work being done each day by Smile Train’s dedicated partners.

Knowing how difficult life can be for a child born with a cleft, Jill has been instrumental in supporting Smile Train’s overseas efforts, serving as the primary liaison for the nine regional managers and their teams. Under her leadership, the Program Team is responsible for the oversight of approximately $50 million in annual grant awards globally, partnering with close to 1,000 in hospitals across more than 70 countries.

Jill’s team manages Smile Train’s online patient database – Smile Train Express – that contains over 600,000 records of children who have been the recipients of free cleft repair surgery. The system receives the records of new surgeries, logging more than 300 new smiles and second chances at life every day. Cases are reviewed for surgical quality and are also checked against existing records to prevent fraud and enforce Smile Train’s high standards. Jill also supervises restricted gift proposals from major supporters, tracking and reporting grantee progress on these grants.

Jill and her team work closely with Smile Train’s Medical Advisory Board, including management of meetings and the execution of board initiatives. Jill also oversees Smile Train’s medical and training conferences, manages special projects, and coordinates high-profile initiatives, including VIP visits to partner hospitals and joint projects with groups such as the World Health Organization.

Jill holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of South Carolina.