Lesly Simmons is a media professional based in Washington, DC. Her career spans more than 10 years with some of the largest nonprofit and media organizations in the country. At the American Red Cross, she was responsible for national media relations with top-tier outlets, creating strategic plans for organizational campaigns, and supporting hundreds of field offices with diverse communications needs. Lesly worked as a reporter for the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) and spent several years covering healthcare and technology on Capitol Hill.
Today Lesly works in interactive public relations, helping clients reach their goals using the power the of the web and social media combined with solid communications planning.
Lesly is a graduate of George Washington University with a degree in journalism and a minor in economics. She also holds a certificate in publishing from the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University (now at Columbia University), and and is Accredited in Public Relations by the Public Relations Society of America. She recently completed a Master’s degree in ethics at Georgetown University, including a thesis project on how social media use affects reputations among professional adults.
Lesly’s civic pursuits include serving on the Board of Directors for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Washington, D.C., and volunteer work with For Love of Children and In2Books, among other organizations. She works as a freelance writer covering tech, entertainment and politics for print and online publications, including Black Web 2.0.
For more specifics check out my resume, and connect with me via email at lesly dot simmons at gmail dot com. You can also find me on LinkedIN and Twitter.
