Clara Smith, PhD

As the Sr. Diversity & Inclusion Training & Development Specialist for HR, Clara designs and implements employee development opportunities in support of operationalizing the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), supports departments on campus in their DEI goals, and provides DEI training materials and opportunities to the campus.

Clara is a Forever Buff with a Ph.D. in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity, and her dissertation research focused on the underrepresentation of gifted students who are bilingual in gifted programs. Clara is committed to diversity and inclusion efforts on campus and has produced and advanced equity work and research at the University of Colorado Boulder since 2010. She is an elected staff council representative for Area 9, serves on the Inclusive Excellence Committee and as an elected delegate for the University of Colorado Police Department Community Oversight Review Board.

Clara has worked in various roles on campus including as a facilitator and change consultant for the Departmental Action Team (DAT) Project, which focused on sustainable change related to undergraduate education; as a research assistant and adjunct faculty for the School of Education; served on the original steering committee for the Inclusive Communities of Practice; was the founding Manager and Lead for the Student Fellows program with ASSETT; and worked as a graduate research assistant and academic coordinator for the McNeill Academic Program, a multicultural learning community. Outside of CU, she is the Director of DEI Education and Board Secretary for the non-profit Medicine Horse based in Boulder County and has been a speaker on DEI topics for regional universities and organizations in Colorado and the Midwest.

Clara enjoys spending time with family, cooking and being outdoors in her free time.