Profile

Kendra Smith, Ph.D.

Director of Community Engagement

Bio

Kendra L. Smith, Ph.D., is the director of community engagement for the University of Houston College of Medicine and Humana Institute for Integrated Systems Science. Dr. Smith is responsible for both entities strategic approach to community engagement and also contributes to the mission and vision UH College of Medicine through research, service, and education. Dr. Smith is an experienced scholar-practitioner in the areas of community health and healthy equity. Her passion is building healthy communities. She is most interested in finding methods of enhancing health, equity, and well-being through community engagement. Specifically, she strives to understand community engagement models (e.g., studying the ways in which we engage that are culturally relevant, timely, equitable, and impactful) that support improved health outcomes. Dr. Smith earned a Ph.D. in Community Resources & Development at Arizona State University. Before joining the UH College of Medicine, she worked at the Stanford University School of Medicine where she led community engagement efforts in the Center for Population Health Sciences and the NIH funded Clinical Translational Sciences Award.