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Kathy Smith is a life-long educator who began her career as a high school English teacher in the Bartlesville, Oklahoma School District. She also taught and served as a deputy superintendent in the Bentonville, Arkansas School District before joining the Walton Family Foundation, where she worked for 20 years. There, she eventually directed education funding within the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group across a three-state region, including Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Funding included support for establishing and expanding high quality public charter schools. Kathy and her husband, Kenny, reside in Shell Knob and have two grown children and five grandchildren in Kansas City and Denver. She joined the Commission in March 2026.