Dena Simmons

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5 out of 5

Educator & Founder of LiberatED; Social & Emotional Learning Advocate

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New Haven, CT, USA
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Dena Simmons Biography

Dena Simmons, Ed.D., is the founder of LiberatED, a collective focused on developing school-based resources at the intersection of social and emotional learning (SEL), racial justice, and healing. She is the former Assistant Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where she supported schools to use the power of emotions to create a more compassionate and just society. Prior to her work at the Center, Simmons served as an educator, teacher educator, diversity facilitator, and curriculum developer.

Simmons has been a leading voice on teacher education and has written and spoken across the country about social justice pedagogy, diversity, emotional intelligence, and bullying in K-12 school settings, including the White House, the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit, the United Nations, two TEDx talks, and a TED talk on Broadway. She has been profiled in Education Week, the Huffington Post, NPR, the AOL/PBS project, "MAKERS: Women Who Make America," and a Beacon Press Book, "Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists."

Simmons is a recipient of a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a J. William Fulbright Fellowship, an Education Pioneers Fellowship, a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, a Phillips Exeter Academy Dissertation Fellowship, a Hedgebrook Writing Residency, a Baldwin Fellowship, a Pahara-Aspen Fellowship, and an Arthur Vining Davis Aspen Fellowship among others. She earned her doctorate degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she served as faculty in the Summer Principals Academy.

Simmons' research interests include teacher preparedness to address bullying in the K-12 school setting, culturally responsive pedagogy, and the intersection of equity and SEL interventions with the goal of ensuring and fostering justice and safe spaces for all. She is the author of the forthcoming book, "White Rules for Black People."

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 10/29/2024.

Dena Simmons Speaking Topics

  • Leveraging Emotional Intelligence and Culturally Responsive Practices for Thriving Students

    For students to thrive at school, they must feel safe to be who they are; they must love themselves. As a result, our leadership and instruction must foster psychological and emotional safety through emotional intelligence and culturally responsive pedagogy. During this interactive session, participants will explore the five key skills of emotional intelligence—recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions—as well as examples of culturally relevant practices. Through narrative, Simmons will discuss how the intersection of emotionally intelligent and culturally responsive practices can create equitable and welcoming communities, where students can learn in the comfort of their own skin.

Dena Simmons Videos

  • Rooted in Community "I became someone I wasn't..."
    In YOU Better! Episode 5 - Yaribel Mercedes shared with Kiesha Garrison how an impactful graduate school professor named Dena Simmons helped her get...
  • 2019 SEL Exchange: Building a Culture of Equity Through SEL
    SEL can address issues such as privilege, power, race, social justice, and community, and help build a new system of schooling that serves all...

Speaker Lists Featuring Dena Simmons

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Dena Simmons is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Leveraging Emotional Intelligence and Culturally Responsive Practices for Thriving Students. The estimated speaking fee range to book Dena Simmons for your event is $30,000 - $50,000. Dena Simmons generally travels from New Haven, CT, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Liz Dozier, Zaretta Hammond, Erin Gruwell, Dr. Sharroky Hollie and Kandice Sumner. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Dena Simmons for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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