Ed Smith

Ed Smith (Osage descendant) is 35 years old. Ed works at Johnson County Community College for the American Indian Health Research and Education Alliance as a Research Program Coordinator. Ed is project director for the All Nations Breath of Life Smoking Cessation program. He also assists with the Youth Outreach project. Ed has volunteered as a Community Ambassador to Cancer Research. In the past, he has taught American Indian culture classes at the Kansas City Indian Center and Haskell Indian Nations University, as well as, Tae Kwon Do. He currently lives in Overland Park Kansas with his wife and four children. Ed is a M.A. student in the Indigenous Nations Studies program at the University of Kansas with a focus on Cultural Preservation/ Community Education. Ed has an interdisciplinary BA degree in American Indian Studies, Social Work, and Political Science from the University of Missouri- Columbia. Ed founded the MU American Indian Alumni Association. As a student there, he served as President and Vice- President of the Native American Student Organization- From the Four Directions. Prior to that time Ed grew up in the St. Louis area where he was involved with the St. Louis Indian Center, and the St. Louis Indian Society.