Alicia Simmons, PhD

Alicia Simmons, PhD, is a vice president at Hart Research who specializes in the attitudes and experiences of Black Americans. She earned her PhD in sociology from Stanford University.

Since joining Hart in 2022, Alicia has worked primarily in the political and advocacy sectors. Her clients include the Center for American Progress, Priorities USA, EMILYs List, the Black Economic Alliance, and UNCF. She is also a member of CNBC’s quarterly All-America Economic Survey team.

In addition to her work at Hart, Alicia is an associate professor of sociology at Colgate University, where she teaches classes such as Black Communities, Race & Crime, and Media & Politics. Her academic research focuses on racial attitudes, criminal justice policy preferences, and news consumption; her work has been published in journals such as Social Forces, Sociological Methodology, and the Du Bois Review. She has authored two non-fiction audiobooks, Sociology 101 and Race in America 101, and is an on-screen instructor for Outlier.org.

Alicia is originally from Rhode Island and is now based in Washington, DC. When she is not at work asking questions and making sense of people’s answers, she enjoys jigsaw puzzles, board games, and mini golfing with her family.