Rachel Simmons

Best-Selling Author & Leadership Educator

Rachel Simmons

Best-Selling Author & Leadership Educator

Add to List Availability & Fees

Biography

Rachel Simmons is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Odd Girl Out and The Curse of the Good Girl, and Enough As She Is. Rachel’s dynamism and charisma have earned her international acclaim. A master facilitator and executive coach, she works for the world’s most innovative companies to design and deliver programs for women’s leadership development and gender equity. She is renowned for translating social science research into accessible strategies with authenticity and humor, while creating a safe space to explore uncomfortable topics.

Rachel serves on the faculty of the Google School for Leaders and is an associate with the firm Cultivating Leadership. After co-founding the national nonprofit Girls Leadership, she led the Phoebe Lewis Leadership Program at Smith College. Her writing has appeared in the The New York Times and Harvard Business Review, among many other publications.

An ABC News Contributor for Good Morning America, Rachel is a recognized thought leader in the national media. She is a proud gay parent and lives in Western Massachusetts with her daughter and two rescue dogs.

Speaker Videos

Chief Risk Taking

Ageism and Women

Breaking Down Bullying Culture

Speech Topics

Gender Intelligence for Men

A safe, dynamic learning opportunity for men to learn the root causes of gender inequity, understand and respond to bias, and get inspired to mentor and sponsor women. Shame and blame have no place here; the assumption is men want to help, and this session shows them how.

Activate a Culture of Sponsorship

Diverse teams deliver better results, but an absence of sponsorship prevents women and other underrepresented groups from advancing. Rachel designs and delivers successful sponsorship programs globally, and in this practical, interactive session, participants learn the difference between being a mentor and sponsor, receive a playbook for sponsoring high potential employees and generate specific strategies for their teams and organization.

Find a Sponsor: Three Key Skills for Sponsees

Employees are sick of being “mentored to death.” They want a sponsor, but don’t know how to find one – much less maximize the relationship. In this dynamic session, participants learn how to move beyond a mentor, and practice three core skills necessary to build and drive a relationship with a sponsor.

Unlock Psychological Safety

Creativity, innovation and belonging suffer when teams feel silenced or fearful about taking interpersonal risks. Research confirms psychological safety is mission critical, yet few understand how to create it. In this practical session, learn tools to build safe spaces where people can speak up, seek support and optimize team cohesion.

Self-Advocacy & Saying No: The Art of Boundary Setting

We set boundaries when we say no, delegate, seek feedback and ask for more resources. Boundary setting directly affects our wellness, relationships and growth potential; it’s a crucial part of how we define who we are and where we want to go. Yet many women struggle to claim their space in the face of pressure to please others. In this session, participants learn and practice skills for effective limit setting, including tools to overcome the discomfort saying “no” brings to so many of us.

Enough As You Are: Moving Beyond Impossible Standards of Success for Teens

Today’s teens have never been more successful, yet they have also never been as unhappy. Too many feel that, no matter how hard they try, they will never be enough – not smart enough, successful enough, attractive enough, popular enough—the list goes on. Backed by vivid case studies and two decades of research, Rachel offers a clear understanding of this devastating problem and provides practical, data driven advice for parents and educators. These include self-compassion as an alternative to self-criticism; tools to manage overthinking and take healthy risks; strategies to navigate toxic elements of social media; and realistic ways to prioritize self-care. Rachel also tells her own story: once a Rhodes Scholar, she became burned out on the culture of overachievement surrounding her. She learned that being successful doesn’t make one happy—just successful.

Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Healthy Friendships at Any Age (For any gender audience)

Exclusion. Toxic friendships. Cyberbullying. When a child’s relationships are in trouble, their core sense of self is threatened. Parents feel anguished and helpless. For over 20 years, Rachel has studied the politics of girls’ relationships. She has empowered parents globally to help their children negotiate some of the most painful moments of their lives. Simmons’ rigorous research and unparalleled experience with girls makes her a favorite of parent associations around the world. She weaves down-to-earth advice with analysis of girls’ development to provide parents with concrete strategies and scripts to help kids cope with best friends, worst enemies and everything in between. An intimate observer of the social worlds of girls, Simmons offers parents a window into the hidden culture of girls’ aggression.

How to Succeed Without Sacrificing Yourself

Women report unprecedented levels of burnout, anxiety and stress. In 2022, more senior women left their posts than ever. In this empowering, practical session, participants learn how early messages about femininity shape women’s experience at work; strategies for psychological flexibility to better manage stress; ways to approach “imposter” feelings; and a three step protocol for self-compassion.

Testimonials

"I was really impressed with how you tailored your message today. Your introduction was engaging and spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation which helped me to remember the material so much better. A great experience that I feel I will be able to apply in my own parenting practice."

- WeCare

"Rachel comes to Flint Hill School regularly to build the students’ self-esteem and prevent bullying behavior. She focuses on empowering strategies and she has been very successful with both genders. Her presentation had a significant impact on our entire population of both male and female students. This was even more evident from the number of male students who stayed after the assembly to talk with her personally."

- Flint Hill School

"Rachel was wonderful! Our audience loved her presentation and style and I personally found her to be delightful."

- Renfrew Center Foundation

"RACHEL ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh….she was everything I hoped for and MORE. EVERYONE raved and raved about her presentation. She was down to earth, funny, SO knowledgeable, friendly, approachable…I can’t say enough good things. My daughter (who worked at the book table with Rachel) had stars in her eyes for the entire conference. The room was packed…and they STAYED until she finished!!! We drew bigger numbers than ever before (1400+), and I firmly believe it was because of Rachel. This morning, I sent out an email to all of the school counselor state presidents recommending Rachel for their conferences."

- Missouri School Counselors Association

"The Rachel Simmons visit was the single most successful school assembly event we have ever hosted. The girls loved her. She was concerned about working with the Lower School girls, but she did great with them! The Middle School and Upper School girls could have spent a week with her. We did follow up activities in all divisions and we are using the language she used in her talks. The parents were equally impressed and moved by her talks. Thank you so much for making the arrangements for us."

- Wichita Collegiate School

"You were a hit with the participants who appreciated your availability and willingness to spend time with them for a few minutes after the session. Engaging with them gives you and your message credibility and actually promotes the belief that opportunity is for the taking."

- Michigan High School Athletic Association

"Rachel was wonderful. It is not often you find a speaker who can so poignantly reach such a broad age range, ours being from 12 to 60, but Rachel absolutely came through in her truly unique style taking full command of the stage and captivating her audience. The members of my NCL chapter who attended as well as members from several other chapters have been signing her praise all day. I am deeply touched at the way my daughter responded; she enjoyed Rachel tremendously and it was a special day for both of us.

I would like to thank you personally for handling the event so thoroughly and professionally from negotiation through execution. Working with you has been a most pleasant experience. Please extend our sincere thanks to Rachel, she was delightful and an absolute jewel."

- National Charity League, Saratoga Los Gatos Chapter

"I saw both talks and I thought she was fantastic. Our past WeCare president said she was her favorite speaker of all the speakers we've had. She was very funny and got her message across very effectively. I think my favorite thing about her was her ability to listen to parents' questions during the Q & A. She would ask them follow-up questions until she felt she really understood their situation and then give them extremely thoughtful, honest responses."

- WeCare

"We had a WONDERFUL event with Rachel on Saturday! She was/is delightful, and extremely entertaining and informative. She completely engaged both mothers and daughters in our audience—our entire audience! The time went by way too quickly. We could have listened to her much longer! Thanks for all your help coordinating the event!"

- National Charity League - East Valley Chapter

"Rave reviews across campus and from the community. We had a great response; the hall in which she spoke had students sitting on the floor to fit in. We had great student, faculty, and community response, with several parents bringing their daughters, daycare and education professionals, etc. Her appeal was broad based. She was also very accommodating and helpful to our Rhodes candidate; they spent an hour or so together and Rachel was great help."

- USD

"We sold over 900 tickets and had to put chairs on the stage to accommodate the overflow of people. She is a delightful, dynamic young woman. We were all so impressed with the ease in which she handled the crowds of anxious parents and the time she invested in hearing their personal experiences. I can't wait to listen to her speak again!

There must have been at least 40 little girls waiting in line to ask Rachel a question and she was gracious and articulate in her responses to each and every one of them. It was particularly an impact that so many children were willing to get up and express their feelings; share their personal experiences. It certainly speaks to the degree that we are all affected by “AG” and how eager the kids were to talk about it.

I want her to know that she reached our community, opening a much needed dialogue to address this issue. And, now she has a cult following of adolescent girls who think she HUNG THE MOON, my daughters included."

- Connecticut Public Schools

"The Head and I attended all four presentations--grades 8-12, grades 4-7, parents and alums, faculty and staff. Rachel varied the content and the delivery model for each of these target groups with some similar messages for each. We had spoken beforehand about possible focus topics for each of the four different groups and this was a great opportunity for us to work with Rachel, her content and her delivery. Our event is complex in that we need a speaker with Rachel's nimbleness and experience to reach varied audiences. Kudos to her, her energy was positive the whole way through. We are really happy to have worked with APB. Logistics from start to finish went well. We would recommend Rachel and APB to other schools."

- Client

"We are so pleased, she was absolutely fabulous! Our theater was packed for all of the presentations to our parents, faculty, and students and she engaged them all."

- Convent of the Sacred Heart

"I can’t tell you how many people stopped by my office to say how valuable your training was to them as parents and even to them as individuals. A young woman from our London office (20 something, no kids) emailed me to say anyone who is human would benefit from some of your tips. I have 10 new book orders from others who wanted a copy. Bottom line: Huge impact.

So thank YOU so much. And thank you for being so easy to work with as well. We look forward to having you back."

- Wellington Management Company LLP

"So many kids said Rachel was the best speaker we ever had. I also had faculty coming up to me for the past few days thanking me for having a program where they could think about nurturing themselves rather than always focusing on how to take care of the girls. And that parent turnout was the largest we had in years."

- Westover School

"It’s honestly scary how relevant that was to my life. Rachel knew exactly what I’m dealing with and what I know a lot of my friends are dealing with as well. She also didn’t give us a bunch of statistics and facts listed out, she presented in a way that made her relatable and funny and also compassionate. She seemed to genuinely care about helping us and getting through to us, and I think this is the best speaker that [our school] has ever had."

- High School