Dr. Miller-Smith served as the Vice President of Research & Impact at Yardstick Management | Diversified Search Group. In this position, she led the research and development department and the Yardstick Management Institute, a leadership institute for the nation’s top diverse leaders.  

Previously, Dr. Miller-Smith was a Professor in the Human Development and Family Sciences Department at the University of Connecticut. Her main areas of expertise include diversity, equity, and inclusion, low-income populations, and civic engagement. In March 2020, her textbook, Families and Children Living in Poverty was released. She also lived on the island of Nevis for three years and created early childhood, socioemotional teacher trainings, and developmental screening assessments to connect Nevis families with speech language and behavior therapy resources.   

Dr. Miller-Smith earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego, Master of Arts degree from Emerson College, and Doctorate in Education from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. She moved to St. Thomas from St. Simons Island, Georgia in August 2023 with her husband who is in resort management and their two daughters. 

Please stop by the office and say hello to Monica, and perhaps offer some ideas of projects you would like to support and volunteer on in 2024.