Dr. Wendy Smith

Wendy B. Smith Meyer, Ph.D., LCSW, is a retired clinical professor of social work and associate dean of curriculum development and assessment at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She taught courses on child and adolescent development transition age youth, among others. She had a private practice in psychotherapy for over 35 years, specializing in the treatment of individuals, couples, and survivors of childhood maltreatment.

Currently, Dr. Smith chairs the board of directors of the National Foster Youth Institute and is a member of the Foundation Board of Trustees at the Venice Family Clinic. 

Dr. Smith is the author of, Youth Leaving Foster Care: A developmental, relationship-based approach to practice, published by Oxford University Press in 2011. It  is the text for courses on social work practice with youth leaving foster care. The book integrates her extensive clinical, teaching, research, and administrative experience in a multidimensional approach to the needs of former foster youth..