Nina Simons
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Nina Simons (born January 10, 1957, in
Manhattan, NY Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entirely ...
) is a co-founder & co-CEO of
Bioneers Bioneers, under its parent foundation, Collective Heritage Institute, is a non-profit environmental and social justice advocacy organization based in New Mexico and California. Founded in 1990, the organization's philosophy says that there is val ...
, 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.


Early life and career

Simons grew up in New York City, where she was involved in theater at the
New Lincoln School The New Lincoln School was a private experimental coeducational school in New York City enrolling students from kindergarten through grade 12. History New Lincoln's predecessor was founded as Lincoln School in 1917 by the Rockefeller-funded Gene ...
. She majored in theatre, psychology and English at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
. Simons met her husband, Kenny Ausubel, in
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
. The couple collaborated on and distributed a documentary film about
Harry Hoxsey Hoxsey Therapy or Hoxsey Method is an alternative medical treatment promoted as a cure for cancer. The treatment consists of a caustic herbal paste for external cancers or a herbal mixture for "internal" cancers, combined with laxatives, douches, ...
and the politics of cancer treatment, variously titled ''Hoxsey: Quacks Who Cure Cancer?'' (1987) and ''Hoxsey: When Healing Becomes a Crime''. 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. Simons later joined Ausubel and Gabriel Howearth in their fledgling seed company, Seeds of Change, founded in 1989. Simons eventually became President of Seeds of Change. She left Seeds of Change to become the strategic marketing director for
Odwalla Odwalla Inc. () is an American health food company based in Dinuba, California. Founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1980 and formerly headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California from 1995 to 2020, the company's product lines included fruit juic ...
, a juice company.


Bioneers

In 1990, Simons and Ausubel co-founded the
Bioneers Bioneers, under its parent foundation, Collective Heritage Institute, is a non-profit environmental and social justice advocacy organization based in New Mexico and California. Founded in 1990, the organization's philosophy says that there is val ...
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 Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from (''bios''), life, and μίμησις ('' mīm ...
innovators and another breakthrough environmental and social solutions, Mailman proposed a conference and offered to help fund it. Simons is now Bioneers' Chief Relationship Strategist.


Unreasonable Women for the Earth

In the late 1990s, Simons focused on developing women's leadership through a series of retreats. 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. The name, sparked by comments of
Diane Wilson Diane Wilson (born October 17, 1948) is an American environmental activist, an anti-war activist, and an author. In 1989, she was a shrimp boat captain in Calhoun County, Texas, and she saw an Associated Press article saying that the county had ...
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, a grassroots organization advocating for peace.


Cultivating Women's Leadership

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. 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).


Awards

* 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'' * 2017, Goi Peace Award, with Kenny Ausubel, from The Goi Peace Foundation for “pioneering work to promote nature-inspired innovations for restoring the Earth and our human community.” * 2007, The Visionary Leadership Award, with Kenny Ausubel, from Rainforest Action Network * 2006, Green Cross Millennium Award for Community Environmental Leadership, with Kenny Ausubel, from Global Green USA