As a young girl, Beth Smart spent her summers on the outer banks in Cape Hatteras, NC. This is where her love of the ocean and all the creatures in it rooted deeply in her. She spent her days fishing, clamming and playing with crabs in the ocean from sunup to sundown.
As a young adult, Beth decided to study biology in college and eventually her hard work led her to gain a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC, while minoring in psychology, genetics, chemistry and physics.
Beth went on to attend Wake Forest University Medical School, where she graduated as a Physician Associate and interned at North Carolina Baptist Hospital. She also interned at Wesley Long Hospital and Moses Cone Hospital, among others. As a Physician Associate, Beth was sent to Fort Bragg to work with the US government on government matters.

While at Fort Bragg, she was assigned to departments specializing in orthopedics, trauma, and venom specialties and was also sent to attend other specialty courses at schools including Harvard Medical School and Yale Medical School. Beth was also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Nova Southeastern University, specializing in Surgery and Radiology

At that time, she was also conducting dolphin research with The Stranding Network. She still works with that organization today. While Beth was completing her PhD in oceanographic physics at Nova, she cut her program short to start her family with her husband, an orthopedic surgeon.

When Beth was working with patients dealing with spinal trauma, she was asked to help conduct a study on how swimming with dolphins affects the chemical and pain response in patients with spinal injuries.

Soon she had started her own foundation - The Dolphin and Marine Medical Research Foundation, and shortly thereafter began working with the Marine Mammal Conservancy, trying to assist stranded marine mammals.
It was as if the ocean and all its inhabitants had Beth back, and they weren’t going to let her go again!

Whether helping a pod of stranded dolphins, performing necropsies on pilot whales to find out why these animals strand in the first place, or funding special projects through her foundation, Beth will reach out to other professionals to assist her in her mission to rescue sea mammals, and through research, have a better understanding of the ocean and the animals within it.
Beth has appeared in the media and has been a spokesperson for marine mammals, their preservation, and the effect upon these animals caused by changes in our environment, including potential climate change and rising seas.

Beth has been featured in several magazines including First For Women, Southern Living, Longevity Magazine, the National Enquirer, the Palm Beach Post, the Associated Press, Ocean Drive Magazine, the Sun Sentinel, People Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. She has also been appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and other networks.