E.J. Smith is a Marine spouse, counselor, advocate, and writer. As a Nationally Certified Counselor and a certified advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, she focuses primarily on crisis response, and facilitating the healing journey of surviving traumatic events like sexual assault, domestic violence and other traumatic events. She has experience working with survivors in a variety of settings including community agencies, private inpatient psychiatric facilities and the federal prison system. She also serves in a leadership position on a multidisciplinary sexual assault response team in Bryan, Texas, and provides training to law enforcement and other entities on how to work with survivors of trauma.

As a writer and speaker, E.J. focuses on mental health awareness, fostering resiliency and topics of personal empowerment for survivors of traumatic events. Her work has been published on EngagedMarriage.com, MilitarySpouse.com, NextGenMilSpouse.com, and ManyKindRegards.com.

Through her years of working in partnership with local victim services agencies, E.J. has built relationships with community leaders and agencies. She has a trademark blend of ‘Jersey pragmatism’ rooted in heart-based integrity that helps facilitate honest conversation about difficult topics. She serves on the board of the Pride Community Center, an identity-affirming LGBT group in the Bryan/College Station, Texas area, where she is currently working on an initiative to help local businesses self-identify as safe, accepting spaces for all community members.

E.J. graduated from the University of Scranton with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in secondary education. She holds a second master’s degree in mental health counseling from Walden University. She has advanced training in several therapeutic techniques specifically designed to address PTSD and intrusive memory, as well as critical incident debriefing for first responders. She has served as a LINKS (Lifestyle, Insight, Networking, Knowledge, and Skills) volunteers with Marine Corps Community Services and Marine Corps Family Team Building and is a member of the American Counseling Association, the National Board of Certified Counselors, and the American Military Partner Association.

E.J. and her husband live in College Station, Texas, with their dogs, Danny and Moose.