Meet Our Founder

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Makia Smith Thomas is the Founder and COO of Pack&Store Summer Storage. A proud Spelman College alumna with a degree in Economics, Makia draws on more than two decades of executive leadership across operations, budgeting, space management, complex project management, large-scale event execution, organizational development, and multimillion-dollar budget oversight. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt trained and an expert in process improvement and implementation, she has built and led teams, designed and implemented enterprise-wide processes, and consistently delivered at the level senior leadership demands.

Pack&Store, now in its second consecutive year of operation, is the direct expression of that experience. 

The idea was sparked by one particular student-storage experience during Makia's time at Spelman — a moment that stayed with her and revealed what seamless, trustworthy summer storage could feel like. Years later, she built it: a business engineered with the same rigor, discipline, and attention to detail that have defined her career.

Makia is also a serial entrepreneur and the creator of The Hautegoddess brand (thehautegoddess.com) — a personal-development brand and coaching practice she founded in 2018, now nearly fifteen years into her own spiritual journey. Through coaching, her Healed(ish) video series, and her community work, she helps women do the deep, accountable work of self-reflection, mindset, and alignment — owning their stories and creating lives rooted in healing, growth, and peace.

Beyond her businesses, Makia serves on the Board of Veterans on the Rise. She is also an avid traveler and a passionate lover of fashion and luxury — interests that fuel her creativity and inform every brand she touches.

At home, Makia is mom to KJ — a rising college junior, awesome and kind human, accomplished skateboarder, artist, and photographer — and to Margiela, the family's beloved chihuahua-pug. Connect with her on Instagram: @hautemamadc.

Photo Credit: Moses Mitchell