Karina Gonzales-Smith

Karina Gonzales-Smith
Since 2016

Communications Manager

Karina has worked in higher education for over 14 years. Her passion for learning began at an early age when she learned how to speak English after moving from the tropic to the Arctic. Since then Karina has moved from one classroom to another — on campus, online, or overseas. She’s an alumna of UAF and UAA where she studied biology, psychology, and public health. Karina currently teaches for the Allied Health program in the UAF College of Rural and Community Development. She deeply values connecting with people, and her role as Communications Manager allows her to be an authentic, creative, and supportive champion of equity in education.

When not juggling learning, teaching, and working in higher education, Karina loves spending time with her family and corgi. She enjoys eating, reading, befriending animals, exploring the outdoors, making her family laugh, and traveling to places she’s read about.