Sheila Simmons is the Director of the Human and Civil Rights Department at the National Education Association (NEA) in Washington, D.C. She is a leader of NEA's Closing Achievement Gaps project and the NEA Dropout Initiative. Prior to joining the NEA staff in 1985, Simmons was classroom teacher, school administrator, higher education administrator/faculty member, grant writer, urban planner and education researcher/evaluator. She has been the NEA's representative to several external partners, including the National Urban League, La Raza, NAACP, American Association of University Women, Chief State School Officers and Title I Parent Group. Currently her work focuses on the closing achievement gaps at the local and state levels.
