Jade Simmons is a fast-paced, no-holds-barred, powerfully effective speaker. She is exactly what the youth of this country want and need to hear. With presentations that move at the speed of our remote-controlled society, Jade covers a multitude of topics relevant to today’s school-aged populations. Though her passion is for youth, Jade has been a frequent speaker and presenter on a national level for some of the nation’s leading organizations in youth advocacy, mental health and suicidology.

After garnering the title of Miss Illinois, during her tenure at Northwestern University, Ms. Simmons established a statewide platform of youth suicide prevention speaking in up to four schools daily. As 1st runner-up in the 2000 Miss America pageant, she received national attention and was invited to testify in our nation’s capitol on behalf of funding for mental health along with noted mental health authority Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison and popular author Danielle Steel. Jade also became a part of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to prevent suicide alongside Mrs. Tipper Gore and Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher. Because of her work in youth advocacy, she was later asked to serve as a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Youth Opportunity Movement.

Jade’s interests as a speaker are varied and are directed mostly at school aged to young adult audiences. Known for her chameleon-like ability to relate to youth of all ages, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, she speaks on numerous topics of social concern as founder of the Where Do You Stand?! speaking series and is an advocate for the arts in education. Ms. Simmons has appeared on a variety of radio and television programs where she has spoken on topics ranging from the arts to provocative issues like politics and religion. While at Rice University, she created and hosted a weekly television talk show called What’s Your Point?! featuring university students addressing issues such as war, affirmative action, and racism.