Smart, Danae: - Danae Smart is a Family Medicine physician. She is the daughter of Matcham and Danny Smart of Cape Coral, Florida. She grew up in a city designated as a health professional shortage area, which is an area or region in which the population has limited access to primary health care, mental health care, and dental care. Over the years, she became passionate about creating change and always knew that she wanted to contribute to closing the gaps in healthcare disparities. Besides creating new policy, in order to effect change, Danae believes there has to be more diversity in healthcare. For years, there has been a shortage of minorities in medicine, and this is due in part to lack of resources and limited exposure. She was never treated by a Black physician growing up, and if her aunt and uncle were not physicians, she may never have recognized medicine as an achievable dream. Healthcare Sparks was designed to address this need and to provide the opportunity for students to explore health careers in an exciting way.