Bio and Press Kit
There’s nothing more inspiring to me than watching someone discover they are braver than they thought — and nothing that moves me more than helping someone realize they are not alone in their struggle.
I wrote Odd Girl Out to heal myself after being targeted as a child, but in the process came to terms with my own behavior as a bully—a story I have told all over the world to girls and boys alike. After co-founding the national nonprofit Girls Leadership, I spent nearly a decade teaching leadership skills to girls and interviewing them about the pressure to be perfect. I wrote The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Girls with Courage and Confidence, also a national bestseller. As I grew up, so did my students, and I now work with universities and corporations on leadership development. Today I am a parent to a girl myself, and I am passionate about coaching parents to model self-compassion and courage to their girls; that’s the message of my latest book, Enough As She Is.
Rachel’s Bio
Looking for Rachel’s bio for a student audience? Click here!
Rachel Simmons is an internationally recognized educator and author of the New York Times bestsellers Odd Girl Out, The Curse of the Good Girl , and Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy and Fulfilling Lives.
As an executive coach, Rachel guides leaders globally to lead with purpose, courage and emotional intelligence. As a facilitator, she is renowned for her ability to seamlessly integrate social science research with authenticity and humor. Rachel serves on the faculty of the Google School for Leaders and was until recently the Director of the Lewis Leadership Program at Smith College. She is co-founder of the NGO Girls Leadership, and has served as an advisor to Oprah Winfrey and Sheryl Sandberg. As an ABC News Contributor for the television program Good Morning America, Rachel appears regularly in the media as an expert on gender and parenting. Her writing has appeared in many publications including the New York Times and Washington Post.
She lives in Western Massachusetts with her daughter.
Even More About Rachel
Rachel and her daughter live with Charlie, a rescue dog who is part greyhound and part yellow lab, and Rachel and Charlie are avid trail runners and mountain bikers. As a lifelong learner, Rachel loves trying new things, partly because it helps keep her “failure muscle” strong. One of her favorite things to do is make people laugh. Rachel loves karaoke, dance parties, and chocolate chip cookies. She considers herself a New Yorker at heart, even if her zip code doesn’t match.