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Dena Simmons

Dena Simmons

Keynote Speaker: Educator & Founder of LiberatED; Social & Emotional Learning Advocate

Dena Simmons Biography

Dena Simmons, Ed.D., is the founder of LiberatED, an antiracist approach to social and emotional learning 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.

She 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. Simmons 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, and an Arthur Vining Davis Aspen Fellowship among others. She earned her doctorate degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she recently served as faculty in the Summer Principals Academy. Her research interests include teacher preparedness to address bullying in the K-12 school setting, culturally responsive pedagogy, and the intersection of equity and social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions—all in an effort to ensure and foster justice and safe spaces for all. She is the author of the forthcoming book, White Rules for Black People (St. Martin’s Press, 2022).

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Dena Simmons and other top speakers and celebrities.

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..."
2019 SEL Exchange: Building a Culture of Equity Through SEL
Dena Simmons: How students of color confront impostor syndrome

How do I book Dena Simmons to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Dena Simmons for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Dena Simmons, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Dena Simmons or any other speaker of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Dena Simmons for a speaking engagement?

Speaking fees for Dena Simmons, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Dena Simmons are $30,000 - $50,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Dena Simmons, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does Dena Simmons speak about?

Dena Simmons is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as TED, Anti-Bullying, Education, Teacher Motivation, Education Policy & Reform, Education Motivation, Diversity, Black Heritage, Social Activism, DEI, Motivational, Influential Women, Business, Sports, Sports Motivation, Mental Health and Health.

Where does Dena Simmons travel from?

Dena Simmons generally travels from New Haven, CT, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances.

Who is the agent for Dena Simmons?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like Dena Simmons for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Dena Simmons for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Dena Simmons or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

If you’re looking for the best speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.


Dena Simmons is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including TED, Anti-Bullying and Education. The estimated speaking fee range to book Dena Simmons for live events is $30,000 - $50,000, and for virtual events $10,000 - $20,000. 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, Kandice Sumner and Tamir Harper. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Dena Simmons for an upcoming event.

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..."
2019 SEL Exchange: Building a Culture of Equity Through SEL
Dena Simmons: How students of color confront impostor syndrome

Dena Simmons Reviews

  • Search Institute - Nov 14 2021

Dena Simmons News

  • Intersection of social-emotional learning & equity vital, says LEE member Dena Simmons

    Dena Simmons is the Assistant Director at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is a university scholar-practitioner, TED speaker, and educator on social-emotional learning, equity, and culturally responsive practices. She sat down with LEE staff to discuss in-depth the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) & equity in school systems.

  • Without Context, Social-Emotional Learning Can Backfire

    A few years ago, I had the great fortune to meet Bronx native Dena Simmons on a fellowship trip and hear about her life’s work and experience. She’s an educator, a TED speaker, and currently, the assistant director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence—not to mention a keynote speaker at the EdSurge Fusion conference later this year.

  • Humanity, Healing and Doing the Work

    Dena Simmons, Ed.D., is the founder of LiberatED, a collective at the intersection of racial justice, social emotional learning (SEL) and healing in education rooted in radical love. Simmons has expertise in anti-racist education, emotional intelligence, social justice, teacher education and curriculum development.

  • 5 QUESTIONS WITH... DENA SIMMONS

    When Dena Simmons was growing up in the Bronx, she loved going to school. But she didn’t always see her own experiences or reality reflected in what she was learning—the emphasis, she felt, was on white experiences. Since those days, Simmons has gone on to become an educator herself, as well as an activist for culturally responsive, inclusive teaching methods and emotionally intelligent, safe classrooms for all students.

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