Advance Local

Debra Adams Simmons was named vice president of news development for Advance Local, which oversees local newspapers and websites across the country, in April 2014. Prior to that, Simmons was the editor of The Plain Dealer. She joined The Plain Dealer as managing editor in 2007 following four years as vice president and editor of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Simmons previously worked at The Detroit Free Press, The Virginian-Pilot, The Hartford Courant and the Syracuse Herald-Journal in a variety of roles. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, she received her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a graduate of the Northwestern University Media Management Center’s Advanced Executive Program in its Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Simmons is a member of the board of directors of the American Society of News Editors and the president of the Associated Press Media Editors. In 2003, Simmons was named one of Crain’s Cleveland’s 40 Under 40 leading executives in Northeast Ohio. In 2005, she was the recipient of the Cleveland area’s prestigious ATHENA Award. She currently is the vice chair of the board of directors of ATHENA International. She was a Pulitzer Prize juror in 2004, 2005 and 2011.

Follow Debra Adams Simmons on twitter: @DAdamsSimmons