Faculty Profile: Theresa-Vay Smith

Theresa-Vay Smith is a 1996 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law and the Tennessee College of Business MBA program. She joined the Legal Aid Society in 1997. While at law school, she was a member of a National Trial Team and Moot Court Board and active in the legal clinic. Upon graduation, she was a volunteer attorney with the Knoxville Legal Aid Society. She is past president of the board of directors of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland and past president of Community Mediation Services of Anderson County. She is chair of the Foster Care Review Board for Anderson County. She is a 2005 graduate of the Tennessee Bar Association's Leadership Law program for outstanding young lawyers. She was appointed as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association's Leadership Law Steering Committee for 2009 and 2010. She is on the editorial board of the Clearinghouse Review, a national publication of the Shriver Center on Law and Poverty. The ARC of Anderson County, a United Way agency, has honored Theresa-Vay Smith as one of its recipients of the Dove Award in 2011 and 2014.  The annual award recognizes individuals in the community who have gone above and beyond in their assistance to children or adults with cognitive or developmental disabilities. In 2014 the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services gave her its B. Riney Green Award for her commitment to improving collaboration among public interest advocates in the state. She previously served on the board of directors of Chalet Ice Rinks, Inc., in Knoxville, where she also coached and taught competitive ice skating.  She is from Loudon County.