Public Health Alumna Enjoys Advocating for Women’s Health
| Sharla Smith, Ph.D., MPH, embraces the task of advocating for the well-being of women.
Smith, an alumna of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, is an associate professor and director of birth equity, for the University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Population Health.
“I love what I do,” she said. “I’m helping to build an infrastructure to help families. From the start of this journey, my goal was to seek ways to help the community.”
Smith, who enrolled in the college’s Health Policy and Management master’s program in 2002, was among the College of Public Health’s first students. After attaining her master’s, Smith later earned a doctorate from the college’s Health Services and Systems Research program in 2013.
She then remained with the College of Public Health for a year as a postdoc. She credits that experience with teaching her how to be a professional.
Smith was confident she’d excel when, in 2014, she accepted an assistant professor position with the KU Medical Center — Wichita branch. Her responsibility was to teach and help address infant mortality through research projects.
She ascended to her current role at the center’s main branch in Kansas City in 2022. She teaches students while also conducting research in the areas of maternal and infant health disparities, women cancer disparities and community outreach.
“What brings me joy is that I get to do community engagement along with the research,” she said. “To see the community embracing my work and getting what they need is satisfying. It motivates me to keep going.
“Seeing parents get what they need and enjoy the work we do and the events that we present, that’s all very rewarding.”
However, working closely with individuals who she shares commonalities with can sometimes be emotionally draining. Smith acknowledged that’s where networking and building relationships has helped her immensely.
“When I show up in the community, oftentimes, I’m still representing the work I do,” she said. “I don’t get to walk into a room and just be Sharla. There’s never a pause in the action.
“What I’ve learned to do is develop a village of people who do the same work that I do. We support one another. That sisterhood keeps me going.”
In addition to the sisterhood, Smith also remains inspired due to thinking about the route to this stage of her career.
A native of Cotton Plant, Arkansas, Smith learned several important lessons as a youth that she still adheres to.
“Daily, I think about where I come from and what it means to me,” she said. “Me coming from a small Delta town taught me to be the hard working, compassionate person I am today.
“I’m a country girl who enjoys the outdoors, doing country girl type of things. It all keeps me grounded, humble and gives me a source of peace.”
The family-like environment of Cotton Plant sparked her desire to serve others, Smith added.
“In my hometown everybody knew everybody,” she said. “You never did anything without having a community member’s eyes on you. That rooted me in what community looked like. Community means you care about your neighbors. Community means you provide things your neighbors need. The rural upbringing taught me the standard I use for my community engagement today.”
After graduating from Cotton Plant High School in 1996, Smith attended the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB), where she earned a biology degree. Smith later entered a master’s program at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. But unexpectedly, she received encouragement from one of her instructors to pursue a public health degree from the upstart UAMS College of Public Health — established in 2001. Ultimately, Smith changed paths, enrolling in the college’s Health Policy and Management program.
“Coming from UAPB, where people care about you as a person, it was important to me that I went into a master’s program where people similarly cared about you as a person,” she said. “At the College of Public Health, there were a lot of instructors who really cared about you succeeding. They truly mentored you. Through the student support and faculty, staff support, I was able to excel.”
Now a devoted mom and grandmother, Smith said the college helped her attain a career that allows her to be a voice for women from all backgrounds.
“There are a number of things that got me to where I currently am,” she said. “My experience in the college is one of those things. It was a vital experience that I needed. It was an important growing experience. I received some amazing opportunities. Being in the College of Public Health, I had a lot of mentors that not only mentored me regarding academics but also in life. They cared about my well-being.”