He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1988 and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Tennessee in 1992.
[citation needed] In 1988, Smith was a cofounder of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) and the Foundation for Global Sustainability which later spawned the Tennessee Clean Water Network and Wild South.
[4][5] In 1990, Smith helped publicly document extensive contamination of TVA's Watts Bar Reservoir with over 75 metric tons of the heavy metal mercury, and radioactive cesium and plutonium from Oak Ridge’s historic operations.
Due to the event, the Senate Environment and Public Works committee held a hearing on the Tennessee coal ash spill asking Smith to testify.
"[10] Smith also helped lead Floridians 4 Lower Energy Costs to successfully pass a statewide solar initiative, Amendment 4, in August 2016.