Mikhael Simmonds is a multimedia journalist, newsroom trainer and project director who joined the Center for Community Media as executive director in February 2023.
Before joining CCM, he served as the director of new relationships at the Solutions Journalism Network, where he co-led operations, strategy and execution around how SJN trained journalists developed teaching products and coached news outlets.
As a regional manager, he co-developed and managed solutions journalism projects with news partners in Kenya, Nigeria, Costa Rica and the greater United States.
Mikhael’s community media roots run deep in New York. A graduate of two CUNY colleges, City College of New York and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, he specialized in international affairs and international reporting. He taught reporting classes as an adjunct lecturer at City College and co-founded Harlem Focus, a blog covering community, culture, art, food, and life in and around Harlem.
Over the years, Simmonds has worked with outlets such as Democracy Now! and The New York Amsterdam News and NGOs, including the Y International and the U.N. Department of Public Information and NGO Relations.