Ron Simmons

Ron Simmons, Ph.D., was the President/CEO of Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc., a nonprofit community-based AIDS services organization that provided HIV prevention and support services to the African-American community in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. He retired in 2016 and started his own company, Ron Simmons Consulting, LLC, in 2017. In 2018, he developed the Bodemé workshop, a sexual health intervention for young Black gay men, ages 16 to 29. Dr. Simmons is a member of the Global Network of Black People working in HIV (GNBPH) and serves on the International Steering Committee of ICASA, the international AIDS conference for African nations. He is a former member of the DC Regional Commission on Health and HIV.

Dr. Simmons has a B.A. in Afro-American Studies, a M.A. in African History, and a M.S. in Educational Communications from the State University of New York at Albany. He received his Ph.D. in Mass Communications from Howard University and served on the faculty of the Howard University School of Communications for 12 years.

Dr. Simmons’ published works include: “Some Thoughts on the Challenges Facing Black Gay Intellectuals” in Brother To Brother: New Writings By Black Gay Men; “Sexuality, Television and Death: A Black Gay Dialogue On Malcolm X” in Malcolm X: In Our Own Image; “Baraka’s Dilemma: To Be Or Not To Be” in Black Men on Race, Gender and Sexuality; “The Voice” in For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough; and “Joe, Essex, Marlon, and Me” in Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call.  He was a field producer, photographer and cast member of the award-winning documentary, Tongues Untied. 

Dr. Simmons honors include: The Life Time Achievement Award from the Black Gay Research Group; the Harvey Milk Alumni Award from the State University of New York at Albany; and the Heroes in the Struggle Award from the Black AIDS Institute. He has been inducted into the National AIDS Education and Services for Minorities’ Black Gay Men Hall of Fame and selected by POZ magazine as one of the POZ 100 most influential AIDS activists in the United States.