When Mary L. Smith was sworn in as the president of the American Bar Association, she became the first Native American female of the largest voluntary bar association in the world.

Smith, vice chair of the VENG Group—a national consulting firm—and a nationally recognized health care executive, was sworn in as president of the ABA during the ABA’s House of Delegates meeting on Aug. 7 in Denver officially taking over as president on Aug. 8, according to the ABA’s announcement.