Margaret Constance Simms is a 21st century economist whose work focuses on the economic well being of African Americans.
Early life
Margaret C. Simms was born 1947 in St. Louis and spent the majority of her early life there. The youngest of two older brothers, she moved to California to study economics at Stanford University for her PhD, after graduating with her BA from Carleton College in Minnesota. At Stanford, Simms was one of four African Americans, and one of five women studying economics. Her first year she was on a fellowship from the Foreign Affairs Scholars Program, which ultimately lead her to shift her focus on domestic issues and policies. During her dissertation, she worked at the University of California, and after spent several years at Atlanta University. Her first position of power took place at the D.C. based think tank Urban Institute, during which time she spent seven years as a Senior Research Associate and Director of the Minorities and Social Policy Program. After leaving the Urban Institute, she ultimately ended up returning after two decades in 2007.
Career
Simms is a current director for the Low Income Working Families Initiative of the Urban Institute, where she focuses on "the effects of poverty on individuals and the country as a whole, and possible solutions". Prior to that she served as the first woman vice president of governance and economic analysis at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research initiative, in which she spent twenty one years working for. During this time she also served as Vice President for research, as well as Interim President. Simms also spent a year as a Bookings economic policy fellow at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and was a consultant to many organizations including the US Department of State, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Since 1994, Simms has served as a member of the National Academy of Social Science and now serves as Vice President of its Board of Directors.
Select bibliography
Slipping Through the Cracks: The Status of Black Women
Simms has received many awards and elections for her work, including the election onto the American Academy of Arts and Science, has served on the National Research Council Committee on the Fiscal Future of the United States. Simms was the second woman ever to be awarded the Samuel Z. Westerfield Award, presented by the National Economic Association, which honors the public service and scholarly achievement of African American economists. In 2010 she was awarded an Honorary Doctors of Laws Degree by Carleton College, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree.
