"HEAL FIRST. EDUCATE ALWAYS."

Dr. Salena Smith, the founder of the Inner Ear Trauma-Informed Agency,  is a certified trauma practitioner, trainer, and consultant. She is a Teach Plus Policy Alum, who used her educator voice and research to brief legislature on policy recommendations to advocate for teachers to be adequately trained to support students that have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences.  Dr. Smith holds a Distinguished/Exemplary Teacher rating from the Texas Education Agency, (TEA), and is a certified Trauma Practitioner and trainer.   She was an educator in Dallas ISD for over 15 years, and is committed to the development of students and staff.  Her time in Dallas ISD allowed her to see first hand the need for systematic change in balancing mental health and education to provide equitable education for all students regardless of their experiences. 

Dr Smith obtained her BS in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on elementary education, her Master’s in Health Administration, and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation from St. Thomas University where she authored "I Did Not Sign Up for This.", her dissertation on the lack of preparation of teachers to teach students who have been exposed to toxic stress and trauma.  She has consulted on TEA's Project Restore initiative, a trauma-informed training video series, which is designed to address extraordinary and unprecedented needs and connect  to relevant science and strategies that can help to address emotional needs of self, students, and colleagues.