Cami is a highly experienced board-certified music therapist with over 23 years of practice. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Music Therapy from The College of Wooster (COW) and the Consortium of Baldwin Wallace in Ohio in 2000. In 2001, she completed Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) training at the Center for Biomedical Training at Colorado State University, later becoming an NMT Fellow in 2003.
Cami began her career at a Neurologic Music Therapy clinic in Arizona, working for seven years with children on the autism spectrum and those with other neurodevelopmental differences. She served as Clinical Coordinator for four of those years. Following this, she moved to San Diego, where she launched her own music therapy and teaching practice, working with children with neurological differences, adults in rehabilitation, and adaptive music students.
Cami’s passion for community engagement led her to collaborate with the founder of a community music center, where she piloted a music therapy program, taught violin, piano, and early childhood music classes, and led summer string camps. Later, she joined a pediatric medical clinic, focusing on children with autism and neurodevelopmental differences. There, she also served as a music therapy internship supervisor.
In addition to her clinical expertise, Cami has contributed to developing and refining data collection processes and protocols in various music therapy roles. She has supported administrative initiatives and has presented at numerous National and Regional Music Therapy conferences. In 2023, she was a presenter at the TACA (The Autism Community in Action) conference.
Cami’s breadth of experience, clinical skills, and dedication to advancing music therapy make her a valued leader in the field.
Cami’s Story
Cami started playing the violin at 3.5 years old and the piano at 7 years old. Her entire family is musical and when she was a child, the family was known as the Smith Family Performers playing at parks, nursing homes, senior centers, churches, and so many more. Her family traveled all over the midwest to engage in Suzuki and fiddle workshops. Her mom is a Suzuki piano teacher and continues to play the organ for various churches as needed and her youngest brother is a classical violinist here in San Diego due to Cami bringing him out. Cami always knew there was something “not right” when observing children with different needs being treated poorly in kindergarten and elementary school. She went off to college to get a Clinical Psychology degree and her mom mentioned music therapy after her first quarter. She knew with the introductory music therapy courses that music therapy was her field. She always had an interest in the brain-body connection so took to working with Neurodivergent individuals right away. Cami is extremely passionate about changing the lives of those with autism and those that have neurodivergent needs. She thrives working with non-speaking individuals. She has been typing using supported typing for over 20 years. She learned supported typing through Kris’ Camp, a camp for individuals on the autism spectrum and worked there several years as a younger music therapist. Cami’s expertise lies in incorporating sensory integration, holistic methods such as breathwork/breathing, music, rhythm, and alternative communication methods in her practice as a music therapist.
She also has 15 years as part of a fiddle rock band, Lexington Field that she joined when she moved to San Diego. The band started in the pubs and expanded to playing in musical venues all over San Diego and went on tour in 2012 and 2013. The band disbanded earlier in 2024, however, the friendships and musical connections continue. Cami is delighted to join the MTCCA team with her years of experience working with children and adults with various diagnoses and expertise in sensory integration, the brain-body connection from a neurological perspective, and educating and treating from a holistic perspective.
“I am humbled by my work with every individual I see daily. Each person teaches me more than I could ever teach them. I learn more about apraxia, dyspraxia, movement differences, motor planning, and the brain-body connection by the experiences I have each day when working with a person with neurological differences. I continue to learn more about compassion, being humble, listening, and passion with every person I meet.”
