Melissa Smith, M.D., is a family medicine physician who has worked in primary care clinics in low-income communities in the United States and Central America for three decades. Dr. Smith is the Director of Health Equity Initiatives at the University of California Santa Barbara, where she teaches a seminar on Community-based Participatory Research on health disparities, and is involved in collaborative efforts to address health concerns of immigrants in Santa Barbara County.

Dr. Smith has developed training programs for community health workers and midwives in Nicaragua and Guatemala, and has been engaged in a Participatory Action Research project focused on maternal health in Mexico. She has served as medical editor and writer for Hesperian Health Guides, widely used public health manuals on community health and empowerment. Dr Smith is lead author of Hesperian’s recently published book, Health Actions for Women: Practical Strategies to Mobilize for Change. 

In 2012, Dr. Smith received the University of Washington School of Medicine Alumni Humanitarian award. She obtained a BA from Harvard University and an MD from the University of Washington.