Karen de Sola-Smith

Karen de Sola-Smith is a highly experienced healthcare professional currently serving as a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs since June 2022. Prior to this role, Karen held the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow and worked as a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at Salinas Valley Health from November 2022 to September 2024. Karen completed an Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Graduate Program at the University of California, San Francisco from June 2019 to June 2022, and possesses a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nursing Science and Healthcare Leadership from the University of California, Davis obtained in 2019. Additionally, Karen has a Master of Education (MA) in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Literature from American University. Prior to a nursing career, Karen worked as a School-Based Behavior Specialist at Hope Technology School for nearly a decade.