For Your Health
For Your Health

News from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences

Dr. Julie Smith-Yliniemi

Dr. Julie Smith-Yliniemi is the new director of community engagement & outreach for both the Indigenous Trauma & Resilience Research Center and DaCCoTA Research Center CoBRE, housed in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Her home department is Indigenous Health. Julie will be collaborating with communities, academic institutions, and agency partners to focus on community-engaged research to improve population health outcomes and to reduce health disparities. She is a board-certified counselor, licensed school counselor, and a licensed professional clinical counselor. She is Anishinaabe and is from the White Earth Nation in Minnesota. She has thirteen years of experience working in K-12 public and tribal school systems, beginning as a health teacher and then transitioning to a school counselor, and then a clinical mental health therapist. She recently worked four years as an assistant professor in higher education in the Department of Psychology and Counseling. Julie graduated with a master’s degree in counseling from Minnesota State University – Moorhead in 2006. In 2017, she completed her Master of Public Health-American Indian Public Health certificate from North Dakota State University, and in 2018 completed her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision. Julie spent five years implementing cultural and spiritual adaptations to evidence-based trauma therapy models. She is a 2015 NBCC Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) fellow. She has collaborated with the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) to implement cultural immersion educational institutes on the White Earth Indian Reservation and in Rwanda, Africa. She is passionate about learning from others and helping students prepare for working with people from diverse backgrounds.

Julie lives in Detroit Lakes, Minn., with her husband and children. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, traveling, and being outdoors. In the summer months, she enjoys going to pow wows, bike riding, watching her children’s activities, and being on the water. In the winter months, you can find her on a ski slope and enjoying any outdoor activities as weather permits. She is an active Rotary member in her community and enjoys sharing the beauty of her culture and travel experiences from around the world.