Nina Simons

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Nina Simons
Born (1957-01-10) January 10, 1957 (age 67)
Manhattan, NY
Occupation(s)Organizer and writer
Known forBioneers
Notable workNature, Culture & the Sacred
External videos
video icon "Nina Simons - Roots and Branches", National Bioneers Conference, November 26, 2018
video icon "A Woman Listens For Leadership", June 15, 2022

Nina Simons (born January 10, 1957, in Manhattan, NY) is a co-founder & co-CEO of Bioneers, and an organizer of women's leadership retreats and trainings. Her book Nature, Culture & the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership (2018) received the 2018 Nautilus Gold Award in the "Women" category and Silver Award in the "Social Change & Social Justice: category.[1]

Early life and career[edit]

Simons grew up in New York City, where she was involved in theater at the New Lincoln School. She majored in theatre, psychology and English at Cornell University.[2]

Simons met her husband, Kenny Ausubel, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[2] The couple collaborated on and distributed a documentary film about Harry Hoxsey[3] and the politics of cancer treatment, variously titled Hoxsey: Quacks Who Cure Cancer? (1987) and Hoxsey: When Healing Becomes a Crime.[4][5] The film was referenced in Unconventional Cancer Treatments (1990), a "contract report" prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) for the United States Congress.[5][6]

Simons later joined Ausubel and Gabriel Howearth in their fledgling seed company, Seeds of Change,[7] founded in 1989. Simons eventually became President of Seeds of Change. She left Seeds of Change to become the strategic marketing director for Odwalla, a juice company.[2][3]

Bioneers[edit]

In 1990, Simons and Ausubel co-founded the Bioneers organization (under the parent organization the Collective Heritage Institute, Inc.) and started a national conference to highlight solutions to many of the world's environmental and social challenges. The idea for the National Bioneers Conference arose from a 1989 meeting with Josh Mailman, a leader in social investment and philanthropy. When Ausubel described various biomimetic innovators and another breakthrough environmental and social solutions, Mailman proposed a conference and offered to help fund it.[3] Simons is now Bioneers' Chief Relationship Strategist.[2]

Unreasonable Women for the Earth[edit]

In the late 1990s, Simons focused on developing women's leadership through a series of retreats.[8] In 2002 her first retreat, called Unreasonable Women for the Earth, brought 34 women leaders together to brainstorm how to initiate a broad progressive women's movement centered around the environment.[2] The name, sparked by comments of Diane Wilson at the 2001 Bioneers Conference, stemmed from the belief that women are often raised to be too 'well behaved,' or 'reasonable,' conditioning which inhibits women from taking a bold stand for what they believe in. The retreat resulted in the formation of CodePink: Women for Peace,[9][8] a grassroots organization advocating for peace.[10]

Cultivating Women's Leadership[edit]

In 2006, in collaboration with Toby Herzlich and Akaya Windwood of the Rockwood Leadership Institute, Simons co-created a 6-day residential training called Cultivating Women's Leadership.[11][12] Each gathering is chosen from women applicants who are committed to change-making, have influence in their communities, and are selected to optimize diversity in every way in each cohort (at least 30% and often 40-50% of each cohort are indigenous or women of color).[12]

Awards[edit]

  • 2018, Nautilus Gold Award in the "Women" category and Silver Award in the "Social Change & Social Justice: category for Nature, Culture & the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership[1]
  • 2017, Goi Peace Award, with Kenny Ausubel, from The Goi Peace Foundation[13] for “pioneering work to promote nature-inspired innovations for restoring the Earth and our human community.”[3]
  • 2007, The Visionary Leadership Award, with Kenny Ausubel, from Rainforest Action Network[14]
  • 2006, Green Cross Millennium Award for Community Environmental Leadership, with Kenny Ausubel, from Global Green USA[15][16]
  • 1996, Utne Reader “Visionary” with Kenny Ausubel[17]

Publications[edit]

  • Simons, Nina (2019). Nature, culture and the sacred : a woman listens for leadership. ISBN 978-1-7328414-0-6. OCLC 1096397424.[1]
  • Simons, Nina; Campbell, Anneke (2010). Moonrise : the power of women leading from the heart. Rochester, Vt.: Park Street Press. ISBN 978-1-59477-352-5. OCLC 567181937.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Stevens, Lise M. (June 10, 2022). "Available Today: Nature, Culture and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership, Offers Inspiration for Today's Women Leaders". CISION PRWeb. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Climate Hero: Nina Simons". One Earth. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Nelson, Amy (2019). "Bioneers / Expert Q&A: Bioneers Co-Founders Kenny Ausubel & Nina Simons". Bioneers. No. XVII. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  4. ^ Ausubel, K., and Salveson, C. (producers) (1987). Hoxsey: Quacks Who Cure Cancer? (documentary). Santa Fe, NM: Realidadl Productions, Inc.
  5. ^ a b U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (September 1990). Unconventional Cancer Treatments, OTA-H-405 (PDF). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  6. ^ D’Arcy, Geoff. "Hoxsey Formula-History of Cancer Support". D'Arcy Wellness. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  7. ^ Yearsley, Connor (2021). "Remembering Gabriel Howearth, Gardener Extraordinaire and Seed Saver - American Botanical Council". HerbalGram. No. 10. American Botanical Council. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b Feldt, Gloria (28 September 2010). No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think about Power. Basic Books. pp. 91–94. ISBN 978-1-58005-380-8. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Unreasonable Women on a Mission for Peace With Nina Simons and Bioneers". Bioneers. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  10. ^ Moline, Ann (29 December 2002). "'Code Pink' White House Vigil Continues". Women's eNews. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  11. ^ Ghadiali, Amisha (20 August 2020). "E100 - Feminine Leadership, Resilience and Life's Joy with Nina Simons, Stephanie Mines and Zerbanoo Gifford // Dancing Our Lives Into A Global Renaissance". all that we are (Aka the future is beautiful). Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b Canty, Jeanine M. (4 October 2016). Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women's Voices. Taylor & Francis. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-317-27342-4. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Kenny Ausubel and Nina Simons to Receive the 2017 Goi Peace Award". The Goi Peace Foundation. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Revel: The art of activism" (PDF). The Panther. No. Fall. Rainforest Action Network. 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  15. ^ Boehl, Jessica (3 April 2006). "Global Green Announces 2006 Millennium Award Winners". BuildingGreen. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Matters of Note: Kenny Ausubel and Nina Simons Receive Prestigious Global Green Award" (PDF). Explore. 2 (4): 296–297. 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  17. ^ Gould, Kira; Hosey, Lance (2007). Women in Green: Voices of Sustainable Design. Ecotone Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9749033-7-8.
  18. ^ Rogoff, Marianne (1 October 2012). "A Review of "Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart"". World Futures. 68 (7): 540–542. doi:10.1080/02604027.2012.693861. ISSN 0260-4027. S2CID 147418928. Retrieved 19 October 2022.

External links[edit]

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