GOOD TALK WITH MEGAN CHAO SMITH
Associate Producer & Featured Artist of FINDING HER BEAT
Megan Chao Smith started taiko in Boston, migrating west in search of skills and a Japanese mentality. They studied with Tiffany Tamaribuchi, assisting in hundreds of workshops, performances, and contests around the world. MCS then spent 12 years in Japan, learning dance as well as taiko. They finally gained the skills they sought, living and training as a member and producer with SHIDARA, a professional touring ensemble in the bamboo forests of TOEI-CHO. They were the first foreigner in 800 years to dance in the town's harvest festival. They currently reside in Minneapolis. As a public health and psychiatric nurse, they are a published writer on topics of health equity and environmental racism. They are guest speaker and teacher at local Nursing Schools on topics of trauma-informed care, and health equity. In addition to performing taiko, they now combine professional nursing experience with traditional artistic practice towards community healing and empowerment, especially for BIPOC, LGBQTIA+, and homeless youth.
Expertise
As someone who was at one time a homeless gay youth, my life story, and triumph over trauma can be inspirational and informative to others. In addition, I have had the unique privilege of spending a decade in the forests of Japan, studying taiko arts with some of the best artists in the art-form. As an artist and healer, I am passionate in helping empower others to live their dream.
Speaking History
Regular Guest Speaker about health equity, trauma-informed care and improved care for the Homeless at Minneapolis Community and Technical College School of Nursing from 2013-present
Regular Guest Speaker about health equity, trauma-informed care, and improved care for the Homeless at Augsburg College School of Nursing 2015- present
Published professional article co-authored in AMA Journal of Ethics® October 2022, Volume 24, Number 10: EXXX-XXX
CASE AND COMMENTARY: PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
How Should Clinicians and Health Care Organizations Respond When Civic Planning Concentrates Waste Processing in Minoritized Communities?
Shanda Demorest, DNP, RN, PHN and Megan Chao Smith, RN, PHN
Served as a nurse medic through North Star Health Collective in the Minneapolis uprisings after the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Featured in news story for crowd-sourcing PPE for nurses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic 2020-2021
Wrote five anti-racism Resolutions passed by Midwest Nursing Association in 2020.