Dr. Smith’s foundation in health began with an undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry from Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina, and has provided him with exceptional experiences in the areas of general family medicine, public health policy and administration (federal, district, and local), minority health, and health equity and disparities issues.
Dr. Jimmie Smith received his medical degree from Wayne State University and completed residency training at the Southwest Georgia Family Medicine Residency Program in Albany, Georgia. After residency, he was selected as the Education Staff Fellow at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2007, he completed the Master of Public Health Degree with a concentration in Environmental Health from Fort Valley State University and has completed graduate courses Educational Leadership from Mercer University.
His professional experiences include, but are not limited to, academic and public health practice. He has served as the Professor of Practice for the College of Health Sciences with Argosy University-Atlanta, and adjunct professor roles with Atlanta Metropolitan College and the Department of Community Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine. He has served as the Deputy Director of Clinical Services for the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Dr. Smith gained federal public health experience while serving as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Health and 16th Surgeon General of the United States.
From 2012-2018, Dr. Smith served as an Assistant Professor of Practice for Mercer University where he has facilitated courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and served as the Liaison for the Academic Health Department with the Georgia Department of Public Health, North Central Health District. This relationship was the first of its kind in the state of Georgia- helping to strengthen the links between public health practice and academia and dismantling the separation between the education of public health professionals and the practice of public health by engaging students in real-world public health practice throughout Georgia. He remains with Mercer University, College of Health Professions, as an adjunct professor facilitating courses at the master’s and doctoral level.
Dr. Smith is the former Senior Deputy for Health Science in the Chronic Disease Section at the Georgia Department of Public Health. In this role, he was responsible for achieving a team-based environment that supports research, evaluation, and program delivery excellence through support of communities and health districts to reduce the burden of chronic disease and cancer in Georgia. He maintains service to the profession by being an active member of the Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), has served as the Region IV representative the APHA Council of Affiliates, is the current President-elect of the Georgia Public Health Association, former Board Chair of Three Rivers Allied Health Education Center, and is engaged with the Review Committee for the Public Health Accreditation Board.
Dr. Smith remains active in the central Georgia community through the Central Georgia Scout Council, serving as the Advancement Chair for the Scoutreach District, a Troop Committee member for Troop 100, and active at Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church. He is married to Dr. Yvette Monique Davis-Smith, and they have three children- Elizabeth, a doctoral candidate at University of Delaware in the Department of Plant and Soil Science; Amelia, a biomedical engineer with Boston Scientific, and Gordon, a Supply Chain Management major at Fort Valley State University.