Nina Simons,
Co-Founder of Bioneers
Nina Simons is a social entrepreneur who is co-executive director of Bioneers. She has co-produced Bioneers’ annual conference since 1990. She previously served as president of Seeds of Change and as director of strategic marketing for Odwalla. With each of those prior positions, she helped a mission-driven for-profit company achieve national prominence in record time, through community-based and innovative approaches to marketing.

In addition to social enterprise and healing our relationship with the natural world, Nina has an enduring interest in the leadership of women and girls, which is reflected in Bioneers’ diverse programming. This year, she began co-teaching a workshop called Cultivating Women’s Leadership, intended to strengthen the inner resources and tools required to help women of all ages and backgrounds step more fully into progressive change-making. In 2002 Nina produced a retreat for diverse women leaders called UnReasonable Women for the Earth, to brainstorm about envisioning a broad progressive women’s movement with environment at its heart. The gathering served as an incubator, resulting in the formation of CodePink: Women for Peace. Nina speaks and teaches nationally about women’s leadership, cultivating relational intelligence, and organizations as living systems.

Nina was named an Utne Reader “Visionary” in 1996 for her cutting-edge work in communication, community building, and ethical commerce. In 2006, she and her husband/partner Kenny Ausubel, (also Bioneers founder), were awarded the Green Cross Millennium Award for Community Environmental Leadership.

www.bioneers.org