Katie Smith-Easter, MPH, Tribal Liaison

Email: katie.smitheaster@segrasslands.org

Katie Smith-Easter is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She has a background in fisheries and wildlife biology, a Master of Public Health, and is pursuing a master's in geographical information systems (GIS). Her research focuses on public health and wildlife issues throughout the Cherokee Nation Reservation such as the environmental and cultural implications of poultry farms, describing the epidemiology of Oklahoma’s only freshwater parasitic jellyfish, degrading water quality on tribal lands in the Spring Creek watershed, and exploring the reasons why private wells are testing positive for E.coli using GIS. Katie also works part-time as a federal contractor for the United States Geological Survey looking at the potential socioeconomic effects of chronic wasting disease in Native communities.