Kathy Smith-Wenning

Kathy Smith-Wenning

Clinical Assistant Professor
Program Track Director for Allied Health Programs
School of Nursing and Allied Health, Metropolitan Campus

CONTACT INFORMATION

Courses

• Pediatric and Neonatal Respiratory Care
• Cardiopulmonary Pharmacology
• Respiratory Care in Alternative Care Sites
• Social Determinants of Health
• Applied Medical Anthropology
• Cultural Anthropology
• Cross-Cultural Health Practices and Beliefs

Research

• Cross Cultural Health Practices and Beliefs – NJ Migrant Communities
• Immigrant Children’s Rights and Advocacy
• Environmental Health and Social Justice – Jersey City Asthma Ally
• Ethnobonical Use – Oaxaca and NJ

Education

• BA, Thomas Edison State University
• MA, Montclair State University

Academic Profile

Kathleen Smith-Wenning is a registered respiratory therapist and practical anthropologist with a master’s degree in practical anthropology. Her research centers on cross-cultural health practices and beliefs in Oaxaca, Mexico. She was the director of health professions at Hudson County Community College, Jersey City. Smith-Wenning has more than 20 years of experience working within multicultural communities and is devoted to the care of the medically underserved. Her diverse experience spans both the health and social sciences. Known as Professor Kathy to her students, Smith-Wenning is the former Program Director for the Respiratory Care Programs at Rutgers School of Health Professions, Newark. In the evening and online, Prof. Kathy teaches courses in anthropology at Middlesex County College in Edison, NJ, and Bristol Community College in Fall River, MA. Kathy is blending both worlds and working on a Zapotec language awareness project for New Brunswick, NJ, healthcare providers.

Smith-Wenning is an Ambassador for the NJ Reentry Corporation Women’s Health Project, which assists in the healthcare needs of justice-involved women. She has been an active board member of the Institute for Public Strategies (IPS), San Diego and Los Angeles. IPS is a public health organization implementing upstream, population-level prevention programs that reduce health disparities and advance equity. As a volunteer and knowledge-sharing participant, Prof. Kathy frequently works with La Clinica/Hospital del Pueblo, San Martin Mexican, and Oaxaca, Mexico.