Dr. Emily Smith is a public health researcher, evaluator, and systems strategist with over a decade of experience designing and leading research, evaluation, and strategic initiatives that improve outcomes for children, families, and communities. She currently serves as Director of Evaluation for the Vermont Department of Health’s Division of Family and Child Health, where she leads a statewide evaluation portfolio, supports cross-sector systems improvement, and partners with programs and communities to translate data into meaningful action.

Her approach to systems change spans from strengthening individual organizations and community coalitions to modernizing large-scale public systems. She is particularly committed to helping rural and community-based organizations strengthen their infrastructure, use data to demonstrate their value, build effective partnerships, and position themselves as essential contributors to broader systems of care. Whether working with a small community organization or a statewide network of agencies and institutions, she focuses on building the capacity, relationships, and structures needed to turn local knowledge into lasting systems change.

Dr. Smith’s work sits at the intersection of research, policy, and practice. She has led and managed large-scale state and federally funded initiatives focused on maternal and child health, perinatal care, early childhood systems, and health equity. Her recent portfolio includes statewide needs assessments, maternal health innovation efforts, coordinated intake and referral system redesign, and studies centering the lived experiences of families.

With a PhD in Lifespan Developmental Psychology from North Carolina State University, Dr. Smith brings deep expertise in mixed-methods, community-based research, program evaluation, and systems-level analysis. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and public reports and is committed to producing work that is both methodologically rigorous and immediately useful to decision-makers.

At the core of her work is a commitment to equity, community voice, and practical impact, ensuring that research and evaluation are not only informative, but transformative.