SELECTED AWARDS
2004
“Special Mention,” Documentary Section, Long Form, 16th Annual Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival
Gloria Steinem Fund of the Ms. Foundation for Women
Prince George’s County (Maryland) Sheriff’s Department Discretionary Grant
Prince George’s County (Maryland) Council Discretionary Grant
2003
Amnesty International Women’s Human Rights Program Discretionary Grant
Denver Pan African Film Festival “Soul Spirit” Award
Barnard/Columbia Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center’s “Voices of Courage” Award
Rockefeller Foundation Artist’s Fellowship nominee
Open Meadows Foundation Post Production Grant
Valentine Foundation Post Production Grant
2002
Women’s Way Discretionary Grant
Bread and Roses Community Fund’s Discretionary Grant
2001
Cercle des Libres Penseurs de Bruxelles (Belgium) Discretionary Grant
Groupe du 6 Novembre (France) Discretionary Grant
Bread and Roses Community Fund’s Donor Advised Post Production Grant
Women’s Way Discretionary Grant
2000
Pennsylvania National Organization for Women Discretionary Grant
Valentine Foundation Production Grant
Delaware Legacy Valley Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation Post Production Grant
Women’s Way Discretionary Grant
Bread and Roses Community Fund’s Waters Award for Intergenerational Activism
Funding Exchange Donor Advised Production Grant
1999
Valentine Foundation Production Grant
Bread and Roses Community Fund’s Donor Advised Production Grant
Rockefeller Foundation Artist’s Fellowship nominee
ASTRAEA Foundation Production Grant
1998
Valentine Foundation Research and Development Grant
NAACP (Philadelphia Chapter) Exemplary Citizen Award
Audre Lorde Legacy Award of the Union Institute Center for Women
Finalist, Roy W. Dean Grant of Studio, Film & Tape, Inc.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Discretionary Grant
1997
ASTRAEA Foundation Pre-Production Grant
1995
Atlantic City Black Film Festival “Filmmaker” Award
1994
Philadelphia Gay Pride Grand Marshall Award
1993
Philadelphia Independent Film & Video Association Subsidy Award
Scribe Video Center Subsidy Grant
2022
Inaugural Changemaker Authors Cohort
2020
Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ Anthology
Soros Media Fellowship
2019
Breakthrough U.S. - Activist Impact Award
2018
Gloria E. Anzaldúa Award for Independent Scholars, Contingent or Community College Faculty (American Studies Association’s Committee on Gender and Sexuality Studies)
2016
Attendee, the first "United State of Women" White House Summit
Just Beginning Collaborative Fellowship (2016-2019)
Sterling Brown ’22 Visiting Professor of Africana Studies, Williams College
2014
Erma Taylor O’Brien Distinguished Guest Professorship, Scripps College
2013
Co-Recipient, with Staceyann Chinn and Fadzai Muparutsa (Coalition of African Lesbians), Black Women’s Blueprint’s
Revolutionary Women Speaking the Unspeakable Award
2011
NO! The Rape Documentary included in Ford Foundation’s JustFilms online archive
2010
Artist-in-Residence, Emporia State University
Co-Recipient, with Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Scarritt-Bennett Center’s Ann L. Reskovac Courage Award
2009
Artist-in-Residence, Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, University of Chicago
2008
Eighth Annual Philadelphia Black Gay Pride’s “Legend Award”
India International Women’s Film Festival “Best Documentary Award”
2007
Institute on Domestic Violence In the African-American Community’s “Media Award”
International Federation of Black Prides Award
NO! designated as the Featured Event during the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s 2007 National Sexual Assault Awareness Month Campaign
2006
San Diego Women’s Film Festival “Audience Choice Award” and “Juried Award”
DC Rape Crisis Center's Visionary Award
National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s 2006 National Award for Outstanding Response to End Prevention of Sexual Violence
Ford Foundation educational marketing and international distribution grant
2005
Leeway Foundation Transformation Award[1]
Valentine Foundation Post Production Grant
Artist-in-Residence, Digital Moving Image Salon, Women’s Research and Resource Center, Spelman College
ASTRAEA Foundation Interim Grant
[1] In December 2005, Ms. Simmons was one of twelve women from a pool of over 200 to receive the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award recognizing her work using video as a tool for community transformation.