Uncrowned Community Builders

Diana Simmons was born in Buffalo, New York in 1956. She is the daughter of Annie and the Wiley H. Simmons Sr. Diana is the fourth of five children. She attended Buffalo Public Schools and graduated from Riverside High School in 1974. After graduation she moved to West Virginia to attend West Virginia State College in the Town of Institute. Diana graduated from college in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science.

In 1983 she returned to Buffalo and began her career working in community service. She was a tutor/counselor at University at Buffalo, Upward bound and Talent Search programs. She was also a Teaching Fellow in the Womenââ?¬â?¢s Studies Department. During this time she became the Education Coordinator for the Junior/Senior drop out program.

In 1988 she left the arena of nonprofit organization and became a Substance Abuse Specialist for the city of Buffalo. For sixteen years she worked in the Commodore Perry Housing Project. During this time she received two Commodore Perry Community Service Awards, College Day Founders Award, DSAS/BMHA/HUD Achievement Award, City of Buffalo Employee of the Month Award and DSAS Employee Appreciation Award.

In 2004 she resigned from the city to take on her current position as Executive Director of Paradise Opportunity Incorporated. Paradise provides women in recovery from drugs and alcohol an opportunity to find a new way of life for themselves and their children.

Diana is a published poet and co-author of Women in West Virginia History. Her research in this project included interviewing Governor Jay Rockefeller. She was a featured poet at the State of West Virginia Black Arts Festival.

She currently uses her as a writer to help the women of Paradise reconnect to their feelings by writing.