Meet Marianna Smirnova 

With over 18 years of experience in sustainability, human rights, due diligence and mineral supply chains, Marianna Smirnova brings deep expertise in responsible jewelry and membership-based organizations to her role leading the Community for Ethical Jewelry (CEJ). She is passionate about driving impact for jewelers and producers through responsible practices.

Previously, as a Senior Director and Interim Head of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), Marianna worked with leading global companies, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), across jewelry, mining, refining, technology, apparel, automotive, and aerospace industries. Marianna also engaged with organizations in the responsible sourcing and production space including IMPACT (Just Gold), Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), Swiss Better Gold (SBG), the Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC), RESOLVE, Artisanal Gold Council (AGC), and the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI).

Marianna has over a decade of involvement with the RJC, dating back to 2013 when she joined the RJC Standards Committee. Marianna collaborated with ARM on FairMined program and served on CRAFT Code development committee for artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASM). She led pilots for Signet’s Responsible Sourcing Protocol, contributed to the development of the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance, assessed the World Gold Council Standard for equivalency, and evaluated the IRMA Standard for auditability. She also developed a diamond sourcing traceability and due diligence resources DDI and led an EPRM grant to scale responsible artisanal gold in Burkina Faso with RESOLVE and AGC.

Most recently, Marianna served as a Senior Advisor to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the Global Battery Alliance (GBA), and as a member of the Compliance Committee for Watch and Jewelry Initiative 2030.