Biography
Lesly Simmons is a technology marketing expert and currently Head of Community Innovation at Amazon, leading strategic partnerships and engagement for generative AI and ML programs. Lesly previously led event programming and content for Amazon Ads, Twitter, and Oculus, combining storytelling and experiential to connect brands with audiences around the world for more than a decade. She lives with her family in San Francisco and was appointed as Commissioner for the city in 2022 in recognition of her work to improve maternal, child and family health. Lesly is the creator of The Dollhouse Project, which produces experiences for children and families.
SPEAKING AND INDUSTRY
2024
Spotlight speaker: Gathering with Purpose, c2, montreal canada
Forbes Travel Summit, Las Vegas
Advisory Board Judge, BIZBASH 11th Annual Event Experience Awards
2023
Keynote, The Future is Experiential, IBTMWorld, Barcelona Spain
Executive Speaker Coach, TED AI, San Francisco
Panelist, The AI Revolution, Connect eTourism Summit, San Francisco, CA
Panelist, Creating Events with Empathy, VDA, Virtual
Keynote, Building Durable Brands, eTourism Summit, Las Vegas
Industry juror, XPLand XLIST Best of Experiential and Events
2022
Panelist, The Future of Events, Cannes Festival of Creativity, Cannes, France
Guest Lecturer, American University School of Communications, Virtual
2021
Panelist, From Black Burnout to Black Joy, Female Quotient, Virtual
Presenter, Creating Content for Virtual Events, Splash, Virtual