Wanda Taylor-Smith obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati and her Master of Science degree in nursing from Indiana University where she also received certification as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in interdisciplinary studies with a specialization in Women’s Studies at the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati. Her professional career spanned 32 years at the University Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio where she held positions as Staff Nurse, Assistant Head Nurse, Liaison Nurse, Clinical Nurse II, Nurse Manager and Interim Nursing Administrator before retiring in 2003. Since her retirement, Dr. Taylor-Smith has been a regular volunteer at the Cancer Support Center, an organization that provides programs for cancer patients and families; and the Eve Center, a branch of the Center for Women’s Ministries, Inc. (where she serves as a volunteer peer counselor and former member of the Advisory Board). She also serves on the board of the John P. Parker House Historical Society of Ripley, Ohio. She spends the majority of her volunteer time at the John P. Parker Elementary School as an in-class tutor, member of the PTO and former chairperson for and current member of the Local School Decision Making Committee which oversees the school’s progress.
Dr. Taylor-Smith is a member of New Mission Missionary Baptist Church in Cincinnati, where her husband, Beeson Divinity School professor, Dr. Robert Smith, Jr., previously served as pastor. She was the founder and former president of the church’s Preachers’/Pastors’ Wives Ministry. She currently serves there as part of the Education/Scholarship Fund Ministry. She is the former Dean of Education for the Ohio Association of Ministers’ Wives and Ministers’ Widows, Inc.
Dr. Taylor-Smith has led various Bible studies and seminars, locally, nationally and internationally, with such topics as commitment, prayer, health care issues, and retirement. Her passion, however, is the issues and concerns surrounding women, particularly women who are married to preachers/pastors and ministry leaders. She is the author of the book The Women Speak: Shared Wisdom for Women Married to Pastors. She and her husband are parents of four adult children (one who now resides in heaven), five grandchildren and one great-grand child.