Katherine Smith has experience of working in youth participation both through research and in the youth work sector. She has worked on research projects in the UK and Europe on youth political participation and inequalities. In 2020 she obtained her PhD from the University of Sheffield in youth and gender derived inequalities in political participation.

She is currently a visiting scholar at Nottingham Trent University. Her research interests include youth political participation, the impact of inequalities upon participation and doing research with young people.