Bio
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, including the American Red Cross, Save the Children, The Bureau of National Affairs, and the Washington Post. 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 also worked as editor and photographer for RedCross.org. Before joining the Red Cross, 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 is a founding partner with Digital District Communications, a full service PR, marketing and design firm serving nonprofit, business, and government clients.
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 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, DC, 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.
2010
Academic research paper & presentation: “Getting Around the Digital Divide: Reaching All Communities in Times of Disaster”
13th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference
University of Miami, School of Communication
March 10-14, 2010
2009
Graduate Thesis: “Common Sense, Social Networking and the Workplace: The Generational Divide Explored”
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
December
Guest lecture, nonprofit leadership and Management
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars
Washington, DC
December
Guest lecture, JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention
Advocacy/Nonprofit Journalism, Public Relations
Washington, DC
November
Panel Discussion, “Using PR to Give Back to Our Communities: Where Corporate Responsibility and PR Meet”
Media Institute for Media Professionals
New York
March
Panel Discussion, “Strategic Social Media”
Black Public Relations Society
Washington, DC
April
