Walter Howard Smith, Jr., Ph.D., Chair

Walter Howard Smith, Jr. joined the Board of Trustees in September 2018 and became chair in June 2021. He is retired from the Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) Department of Human Services (DHS) in Pittsburgh, where he served as the DHS clinical director and the deputy director for Children, Youth and Families. 

In 2012, Smith retired as the executive director of Family Resources, a private nonprofit organization that prevents and treats child abuse by serving more than 20,000 children, teens and adults in the Pittsburgh region.  

Smith is a licensed psychologist with a private practice that specializes in treating children, couples and families. He is the founding member of the Western Pennsylvania Family Center, an education resource center for lay and professional persons interested in family therapy and family studies. He has presented lectures and conferences on child abuse and family emotional process throughout the United States and in several other countries.    

In the past 20 years, Smith has focused on understanding how family relationships change with stresses and result in child abuse, domestic violence and conflict.  

Smith’s awards include the Albert B. Craig, Jr. Award for Innovation in Behavioral Health given by the Staunton Farm Foundation and the Champion of Hope and Healing Award given by the Child Advocacy Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.