Wendy Benjamin Smith

Wendy Smith, 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 and social work practice with children, families, and transition age youth. She is a licensed clinical social worker who maintained a private practice in psychotherapy in Los Angeles for thirty-five years. She specialized in the treatment of individuals, couples, and survivors of childhood maltreatment.

She is active in youth-serving community organizations, serving on the boards of the National Foster Youth Institute, Venice Family Clinic Foundation, and the Advisory Committee of the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. She has served as Commissioner and Chair of the L.A. County Commission for Children & Families.