Dr. Briscoe-Smith earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her clinical psychology Ph.D. from University of California Berkeley. She then went on to continue her specialization in trauma and ethnic minority mental health through internship and postdoctoral work at  University of California San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital.  

She has combined her love of teaching and advocacy by serving as a professor, by directing mental health programs for children experiencing trauma, homelessness or foster care and developing her own consultancy.  Much of her work has been with schools, higher ed, philanthropy and health care organizations, as a clinician, consultant and trainer.  She also provides training and consultation to organizations and systems determined to create spaces of healing and belonging.  The opportunities for her to serve have included everything from consulting with children’s media to providing coaching to executives in large organizations.

She currently serves as the Diversity Lead of Student Life at the University of Washington, as the founder and principal of Soft River Consultation and as a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center where she focuses on developing and implementing the science of bridging (connecting across our differences).