Andrea (McKnight) Smith earned her Master of Nursing from Oregon Health & Science University with a 4.0 GPA, combining academic excellence with real-world impact. Her graduate work focused on psychology, trauma-informed care, substance use disorder in pregnancy, and nursing education. During her program, she spent three terms working with a street nursing team, gaining hands-on experience caring for people experiencing homelessness and learning how compassion, advocacy and health care intersect outside traditional hospital settings.
With more than 20 years as a labor and delivery nurse at a high-risk birth center in southern Oregon, Andrea has dedicated her career to supporting patients, mentoring nurses and improving perinatal care. Her graduate work also included education projects focused on bereavement care, harm reduction, simulation training and trauma-informed nursing practice. Her achievement reflects not only academic dedication but also a deep commitment to caring for vulnerable populations and shaping the future of nursing education.