Janice Smith of Rindge has been appointed to the board of directors of Venture Community Services after its merger with Life-Skills, Inc.

Venture encourages independence through support services that include community residential services, day programs, supported employment, transportation, autism supports and shared living. 

Smith served on the Life-Skills board for nearly 20 years, and has devoted much of her life to her son who has autism and to being an advocate for autism awareness. In 1993, she co-founded a support group, The Family Voice, for families navigating autism during a time when there were minimal resources devoted to this community. This group would become the nonprofit Autism Alliance, which currently includes 2,700 families.

Smith serves on an Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts task force and volunteers for Meals on Wheels and her local food pantry. Smith is retired and previously served as an administrative specialist at Franklin Pierce University, an employee consultant at Advocates Inc., and as a project coordinator and documentation supervisor at Bose Corp.