With more than 20 years experience in international communications with the World Bank and as an independent consultant, Lesley Simmons has developed communications and public relations strategies, managed outreach campaigns, written annual reports, promotional and educational brochures, newsletters, press releases, speeches, articles, and material for the world wide web for multiple audiences.  Her communications efforts have been aimed at international audiences that range from the general public to technical specialists, from government officials to the mass media and even very young children. She has given speeches across the United States and also appeared on radio and television.  She has worked within organizations to develop and implement effective internal communications that promote better understanding and team work.

Professional Experience

Five years working as an independent consultant providing communications support to clients including the Global Development Learning Network, the Global Knowledge Partnership, and the World Bank.

Fifteen years as a communications professional at the World Bank.

Five years experience as an information specialist/librarian.

Ms. Simmons served two terms on the Town of Somerset Council and Chaired the Town's History Committee for 6 years.  She is the author of the Town’s historic district virtual house tour at www.townofsomerset.com and "Somerset: One Hundred Years a Town".

Education and Training

MA in Heritage Management, the University of Birmingham, Ironbridge Institute, 2002.

MSLS, Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. 1986.

BA (Hons.) Social Sciences and Administration, London University, 1977.

Certified Field Producer, Montgomery Community Television, Inc.

Awards

o        Educational Press Association of America Distinguished Achievement Award (given for excellence in educational journalism) 1996

o        Association of Desk and Derrick Clubs Award of Merit for Maintaining Energy Excellence:

o        National Award: First Place, Best Bulletin (editor) 1984

o        Regional award: Third Place, Best Editorial, 1984

o        Ms. Simmons poster “Be a Preservationist” won the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2003 Preservation Week poster contest

Sample List of Publications

Somerset: One Hundred Years a Town, Arcadia Publishing Images of America, Charleston South Carolina, 2005

“The World Bank: Knowledge and Resources for Change” November 1998. The World Bank, Washington D.C.

The Washington Times, “Scrap or Sustain the World Bank?”  (point/counterpoint with Robert Weissman, editor of the Multinational Monitor).  October 9, 1994

The World Bank Report to Students, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 1992; Vol. 1, No. 2, December 1992; and Vol. 2, No. 1, November 1993. World Bank, Washington D.C.

Contributing author to: Entangling Alliances: How the Third World Shapes Our Lives, by John Maxwell Hamilton, Seven Locks Press, Washington D.C. 1990

Social Education  (The Official Journal of the National Council for the Social Studies)

“Global Interdependence--Knocking the World We Know off its Axis” (co-author with John Maxwell Hamilton) Vol. 53, No. 4, April/May 1989

Stories for Children

Meet Kofi, Maria, and Sunita:  Family Life in Ghana, Peru, and India. (Stories from the World Bank). Cobblestone Publishing Inc.  Peterborough, NH, 1996

“Chit, the little boy who hated bugs.” (not yet published)

World's Word, “The Magpie Who Sneezed,” Vol. 2, Spring 1984