As a nationally recognized scholar and expert on issues of racial equity, urban education, and science education, Dr. Simmons has shared his expertise throughout the United States and on numerous media outlets including CNN. He served as the first Chief of Innovation & Research in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). While managing numerous initiatives in the district, he was the chief architect of the nationally recognized Empowering Males of Color initiative. As a result of this work, Washington, DC, was recognized as a leading city working to improve the lives of males of color according to the Promise of Place Report. Prior to joining DCPS, Dr. Simmons was the founding director of the Center for Innovation in Urban Education at Loyola University in Maryland, where he served as a tenured professor of urban education and science education, and associated faculty member in African and African American Studies.

The author of more than 40 publications, including the book, Talking About Race: Alleviating the Fear, his research has focused on the experiences of African American male students, African American male teachers, science education in urban schools, and the role of race in understanding the social context of schooling. His next book, Interrupting the School to Prison Pipeline: African American Males as Critical Scholars and Intellectuals, is part autobiographical, reflecting on his father's incarceration while offering insights into the educational experiences of African American males.

Dr. Simmons is a renowned motivational speaker who openly shares his life experiences in Detroit during the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, the mental incarceration he experienced for much of his life due to the physical incarceration of his father, and the significant challenges he faced leaving his childhood home in Detroit to become one of the few African American students at an elite Jesuit high school.

Learn more at Dr. Simmons' website.