2024 Featured Speaker

Associate Professor, Department of Population Health, University of Kansas Medical Center

Director of Birth Equity, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kansas Medical Center

Founder and Director, Kansas Birth Equity Network

Dr. Sharla Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health, the Director of Birth Equity in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the Founder and Director of the Kansas Birth Equity Network.

​Sharla is a health services and systems researcher whose primary research is maternal and infant health disparities and community engagement. Dr. Smith is passionate about developing a culture of birth equity through community engagement, empowerment, and education.