Assistant Professor
Vice Chair of Education
Email: valerie.smith@uttyler.eud
Department: Pediatrics
Valerie Smith, MD, MPH, FAAP
Degrees
- MPH, University of Texas at Tyler, 2020
- MD - University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, 2021
- BA - Baylor University, Sociology, 1997
Biography
Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas at Tyler
School of Medicine and currently serves as the Pediatric Clerkship Director. Previously,
Dr. Smith served as the Chief Programs and Quality Officer at St. Paul Children’s
Services in Tyler, Texas for over 16 years where she led their Community-Centered
Health Home Initiative and Integrated Behavioral Health programs. She is a graduate
of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, completed her residency at
Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and received her MPH from the University of Texas Health
Science Center at Tyler.
Dr. Smith is passionate about providing high quality care for children in foster care
and reforming the foster system to better serve children and families. Those efforts
include previously co-chairing the Texas Pediatric Society’s Foster Care Committee,
serving as the inaugural American Academy of Pediatrics Child Welfare and Health Policy
Fellow, and consulting for Superior HealthPlan’s Foster Care Centers of Excellence
Program.
She has multiple leadership roles with the Texas Pediatric Society, Texas Medical
Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. She currently serves as chair of
TMA’s Council of Science and Public Health. She also served on its COVID-19 taskforce
and chaired the school reopening workgroup. In addition to serving as TPS’s secretary/treasurer,
she co-chairs its Executive Legislative Committee and is the AAP’s District VII Facilitator
for the Community Access To Child Health Program and serves on the AAP’s Committee
on Federal Government Affairs. She also serves on the board of the East Texas Food
Bank, Northeast Texas Public Health District, and Texans Care for Children
Presentations and Panels
- American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy Conference, Making Advocacy Work, April 2023
- American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy Conference, Fostering Justice: Pediatrician Advocacy in Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Reform, April 2024
- National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, The Doctor is in: Addressing Food Insecurity in Clinical Settings, March 2020
- Texas Pediatric Society Annual Meeting, What’s for Dinner? The Pediatrician’s Role in Addressing Food Insecurity, October 2017
- Texas Pediatric Society Annual Meeting, Public Health Applications in Child Welfare, October 2020
Awards
- Innovation in Teaching Excellence Award, University of Texas at Tyler, 2024
- Outstanding Alumni, UT Tyler School of Health Professions, 2024
- Excellence in Community Engagement, UT Tyler School of Medicine, 2024
- Outstanding Student Research Project, UT Tyler Health Science School of Community and Rural Health, 2020
- W. T. “Doc” Ballard Award for Excellence in Public Health, Northeast Texas Public Health District, 2019
- Mary Green Noble Special Achievement Award, Texas Pediatric Society, 2019
- Chapter Achievement Award, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013 & 2017
- Executive Board Award, Texas Pediatric Society, 2012
- Jocelyn Elders Award for Excellence in Community Pediatrics, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, 2004