Monica Miller-Smith, Ed.D.

Dr. Monica Miller-Smith serves as the Director of Research and Impact at Yardstick Management, where she oversees training and development. For nearly fifteen years, she instructed courses in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut, University of Bridgeport, and Central Michigan University. She possesses expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion, low-income populations, civic engagement, and distance education. Some of her most notable academic and education-related experiences are developing a mentoring program that provided service-learning experiences for thousands of elementary students and hundreds of college students in Connecticut, presenting at national and international conferences on civic engagement, economic inequality, and experiential learning, and creating early childhood, socioemotional teacher trainings and developmental screening assessments to connect families in Nevis, West Indies with speech language and behavior therapy resources.

Her textbook, Families and Children Living in Poverty, was published in March 2020. It explores the factors that contribute to the existence of poverty, as well as the social, developmental, and environmental ramifications of poverty. Through scholarly studies, case studies, historical events, and contemporary happenings, readers examine the connections between poverty and family-related challenges, including adverse childhood experiences, lack of a living wage, health disparities, social exclusion, and homelessness. Monica is currently working on the second edition of her textbook.

Monica earned her Doctorate in Education from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. She is an avid traveler and has lived in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Puerto Rico, and Nevis, West Indies. She currently lives in St. Simons Island, Georgia with her husband and two daughters.