Clara Smith, PhD

Clara (she/her/hers) received a PhD from the University of Colorado Boulder in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity. Her dissertation research focused on the underrepresentation of gifted students who are bilingual in gifted programs. As the Diversity & Inclusion Training and Development Specialist for Human Resources at CU, Clara designs and implements employee development opportunities in support of operationalizing the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence. Clara is an elected member of Staff Council at CU and serves on the Inclusive Excellence Committee, Inclusive Practices for Blood Donations committee, and elected Delegate for the University of Colorado Police Department Oversight Board. Clara has worked at CU since 2010 in various roles on campus including change agent facilitator, research assistant, founding manager and lead for the Student Fellows program, academic coordinator for a multicultural learning community, and currently teaches courses at CU as adjunct faculty. Clara was born in Mexico, spoke Spanish as her first language, and moved to Boulder as a young child. She grew up on her family’s farm and retreat in Boulder County called Peaceful Meadow Retreat.