Donna Glass Smith is a Disability Services Counselor at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). She is assigned to the Medical Education Campus in Springfield, Virginia. With the continued growth in enrollment of students with disabilities in postsecondary institutions, Ms. Smith believe that it is important for educators to champion efforts that will enhance learning environments for nursing students with disabilities.
In her job, she assists students, faculty, and administration in examining and addressing barriers to student success. Donna Smith is a 2008 graduate of The University of Alabama, with a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Prior to earning her master’s degree, she worked in retail operations management for ten years for Walgreens and Staples. As a store manager, she often hired and made accommodations for employees with disabilities. Having grown up with an older brother who is deaf, she understood the role of vocational rehabilitation and the struggles of adults with disabilities seeking employment. After graduating with her master’s degree, she’s worked at the Office of Disability Services at The University of Alabama and is currently a Disability Services Counselor for Northern Virginia Community College, Medical Education Campus in Springfield, Virginia. She’s currently working on the completion of her Ed.S. Degree in Counselor Education and she enjoys hiking and reading and writing fiction. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with 2 dogs, 3 birds, and one hamster.