Jennifer Allen Simons, C.M., Ph.D., LL.D.

Jennifer Allen Simons, C.M., Ph.D., LL.D. is an award-winning educator, thought leader and nuclear disarmament specialist. As Founder and President of The Simons Foundation, an innovative private foundation based in Vancouver, Canada, Dr. Simons has pioneered research, advocacy and action in advancing nuclear disarmament, peace, human rights and global co-operation. Dr. Simons is also personally committed to supporting the arts and cultural community in Vancouver. 

Dr. Simons is active within academic circles, serving as Adjunct Professor with Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) School for International Studies and as Senior Visiting Fellow at SFU’s Centre for Dialogue; a member of the Will to Intervene (W2I) Research Project Steering Committee at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights, Concordia University; a Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland; and a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Center for Theoretical Study and the Institute for Advanced Studies, Charles University and The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.  She served as an Order in Council appointee to the Board of Governors of SFU from 1987 to 1992 and as an Order in Council appointee to the Board of Governors of the University of Northern British Columbia from 1993 to 1996. 
 
She was appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Canadian Government Delegation to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations in 2000, and again to the Non-Proliferation Treaty PrepCom at the United Nations in 2002 and was a member of the Steering Committee of the Foreign Affairs Canada Consultations on Nuclear Issues, as well as a member of the Executive Group of the Canadian Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations.

Dr. Simons is a Founding Partner of Global Zero, an international initiative of 300 world leaders dedicated to achieving the phased, verified elimination of nuclear weapons by 2030, and The Simons Foundation is Global Zero’s Principal Sponsor. She is a member and funder of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, was an initiating funder of Middle Powers Initiative (MPI) and a member of the Executive of the MPI International Steering Committee, and a member of the Peace and Security Funders Group.

In 2002, Dr. Simons, together with Project Ploughshares, initiated a series of annual conferences organized by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) to inform the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on issues of space security, the peaceful uses of outer space and the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

Dr. Simons also initiated an ongoing disarmament education programme in partnership with the International Security Research and Outreach Programme of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). Scholarships are provided to Canadian Doctoral and Masters students to enhance Canadian graduate level scholarship on the issues of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation. 

Dr. Simons founded the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research at the Liu Institute for Global Issues in partnership with the University of British Columbia in 2001, and served as Adjunct Professor and Director. At the Simons Centre, she established The Simons Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Their Delivery Systems; The Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research Directorship; the UBC Simons Centre Student Policy Research Program in Peace and Disarmament; and also created an endowment to support a Professorship in Human Security and a Professorship in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the Liu Institute.

Dr. Simons was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2010 for her contributions to the promotion of peace and disarmament and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.  She was also awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for her service to the global effort to eradicate landmines. Dr. Simons received the 2006 Vancouver Citizens’ Peace Award in recognition of her leadership, energy and effort to the promotion of peace and disarmament, and was honoured by Simon Fraser University and the Alumni Association with a 2009 Outstanding Alumni Award for her Service to the Community.  In 1998, she received the Anniversary Jubilee Medal Award of Highest Merit for Contribution to Development of Civil Society by Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic and Simon Fraser University honoured Dr. Simons with the Jennifer Allen Simons Chair in Liberal Studies and presented her with the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award in 1996. In 1999, she was honoured with an Award for Contribution to Education by Wilp Wilxo'oskwhl Nisga'a House of Wisdom, Nass Valley, Canada, received the First Annual Canadian Peace Award for Peace Philanthropy in 2000, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2001.

Dr. Simons has served as a board member or advisor to a variety of national and international organizations including:
 
·         The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre
·         Middle Powers Initiative
·         The Canadian Landmine Foundation
·         the International Advisory Board of the Hague Appeal for Peace
·         Canadian Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament
·         Canadian Council for International Peace and Security
·         The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
·         Peacefund Canada
·         the International Advisory Board of Global Education Associates, New York
·         Global Education Associates
·         Canadian Executive Services Organization, Canada
·         The Vancouver Institute