Ashley E. Smith, BSN, RN is a graduate student in Museum Studies at Harvard University whose interdisciplinary scholarship examines the histories of freshwater systems, natural history, and environmental knowledge production. Drawing upon over a decade of clinical experience as a cardiovascular critical care nurse, her work explores how rivers and watersheds have been observed, classified, studied, and managed through evolving practices of natural history, limnology, environmental monitoring, and public health.

Her emerging research considers the historical development of freshwater science—from early natural history fieldwork and specimen collecting to modern water quality technologies and conservation practices—and asks how these histories continue to shape contemporary understandings of ecological stewardship, human health, and the sustainable management of a finite resource. Through the integration of history of science, museum studies, and environmental humanities, Smith investigates how scientific knowledge about water is created, institutionalized, and communicated to the public.

Smith is also completing the Master Naturalist certification through Auburn University and serves on the board of the Cahaba River Coalition, where she contributes to freshwater conservation and environmental education initiatives.