Jill Heiney-Smith
Director of Graduate Teacher Education; Assistant Professor of Teacher Education
Email: heineysmithj@spu.edu
Phone: 206-281-2372
Office: Peterson Hall 311
Education: BA in English, Seattle Pacific University, 1993; MA, Middlebury College, Middlebury VT, 1998; EdD, Seattle Pacific University, 2018
Dr. Heiney-Smith returned to her alma mater in 2014 after over 10 years as a teacher educator at the University of Washington. She served as the director of field placements at SPU for four years, and began directing the graduate teacher education program in July of 2018. Prior to transitioning to academia, Dr. Heiney-Smith taught language arts in Vermont and Mukilteo, and all subjects in an alternative high school setting in urban Seattle. At SPU, she strives to incorporate her values around social justice teaching into all of her courses.
Dr. Heiney-Smith’s scholarly agenda addresses the gap in research on supporting pre-service K-12 mentor teachers. Her dissertation, entitled “Design, Implementation and Perceptions of a Pre-Service Mentor Development Program” examined the mentors’ experience of a pilot curriculum developed to foster professional growth. Dr. Heiney-Smith’s current research further examines the university’s responsibility in making mentors feel valued and supported in their important roles as clinical teacher educators. Additionally, she conducts research on what kinds of inclusive programmatic policies, curriculum and experiences will promote a sense of belonging and equitable community for graduate teacher education students.
Since 1996, Dr. Heiney-Smith has attended St. Joseph parish on Capitol Hill where she serves with the One Parish, One Prisoner stakeholder group, in partnership with Underground Ministries. She is married to SPU alum Steve Smith (’89) and they live in Shoreline where they raised their two children.
View Dr. Heiney-Smith’s CV (PDF)