Passion for public health: Carol Smallwood set foundation for career in managed care at NMSU

Carol Smallwood found her passion for public health early in her college career. 

Originally from Raton, New Mexico, Smallwood came to NMSU in 1979 with a dream to become an English teacher. But, after taking a health science class during her first semester, she changed trajectory of her life – for the better.

“I took Health Science 150 as an elective, and the instructor, Dr. John Savage, said, ‘You obviously belong here because I can tell that you have a passion for health,’” Smallwood says.

Soon after, Smallwood joined the then-fledgling College of Health and Community Services and never looked back. Although small and in its infancy, the college played an outsized role in shaping her professional life, she says.

“I gained confidence there, and I had incredible instructors and people helping me along the way,” she says. “It’s also where I honed my skills as a leader, because of all the different things I had the opportunity to get involved in.”

Of all of Smallwood’s mentors at NMSU, Savage was the most influential. He was the first department head for what is now the Department of Public Health Sciences.

“He pointed me in the direction I needed to go every step of the way for four years,” she says, “and he was very influential in my life.”

Savage encouraged Smallwood to pursue graduate school after completing her bachelor’s degree in community health at NMSU. In 1985, she earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of Oklahoma. Her graduate studies focused on gerontology. 

After college, Smallwood relocated to Arizona, where she started her career. She landed a nursing home job that ultimately fell through, but she ended up finding temp work with a Medicaid health plan in Phoenix.

“I started in the mailroom. I was thinking, here I’m with my master’s degree and I’m in the mail room,” she recalls. “But it was the best thing that ever happened to me.” 

From there, Smallwood moved up in the organization and found her calling in Medicaid managed care. She stayed in Arizona until 2006, working with various agencies closely tied to Medicaid. That year, she moved to El Paso and took a job as the president and CEO of El Paso Health, a licensed health maintenance organization that works improve access to medical care for Medicaid recipients in El Paso and Hudspeth counties. 

She led El Paso Health for six years before returning to Arizona. In 2021, she rejoined El Paso Health to serve her second stint as president and CEO.

Today, Smallwood still finds time to stay connected to NMSU. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the College of HEST, sits on the Board of Directors for the NMSU Foundation and chairs the alumni committee. In fall 2024, she’ll join the advisory board for the Department of Public Health Sciences.

“I’m not exactly sure where I would be without NMSU,” she says. “What NMSU gives you is an identity. It’s like you’re with family and you’re at home. I want to make sure other students get that same kind of feeling, that they get that support, and that they know that they are important, and we care about their success.”