As Chief Medical Director of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Dr. Smita Malhotra is responsible for all medical services in the nation's second-largest school district. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead the efforts to re-open the district’s campuses. She also worked to bring Narcan (naloxone) to all K-12 schools, part of a district response to the Fentanyl crisis.
Previously, Dr. Malhotra has been the Director of a Newborn Nursery and co-founded a program that helped to build resilience in children going through trauma in Los Angeles County. In 2014, she started a private practice with the goal of healing the whole child and family by combining traditional medicine with alternative therapies such as mindfulness, meditation, acupuncture and yoga. Her first book, The Newborn Handbook, published in 2020, guides new parents and caregivers through the first three months with a newborn.
Dr. Malhotra has also contributed to The Washington Post, HuffPost and has been interviewed on CNN, NPR, Los Angeles Times and other media outlets.
Dr. Malhotra's TEDx talk, "The Power of Embracing A Non-Linear Path" has had more than a half million views and counting. It was the second highest most-watched TEDx talk in the world when it was released in November 2023.
