Shawn Emerson Simmons, Ph.D., is global supplier diversity and sustainable procurement manager for Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Global Business Service Company. As part of the company’s Global Business Solutions team, Dr. Simmons drives value and champions the use of diverse and sustainable suppliers through competition and innovation in everyday sourcing decisions.

She previously served as upstream project manager for ExxonMobil’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive team, charged with documenting the company’s overall sustainability activities to meet shareholder expectations and business outcomes.

Dr. Simmons has held numerous managerial roles spanning the globe, including in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Russia, Europe, and the Gulf Coast. She has largely spent her 24-year career in the safety, security, health, and environment job family in the upstream, chemicals, and downstream sectors.

On a five-year expatriate assignment in Nigeria, Dr. Simmons chartered a Women’s Interest Network, or WIN, writing its charter, establishing its committee and advisory boards, and facilitating officer elections. She was instrumental in establishing its mentoring program and participated as a mentor. WIN Nigeria still thrives today.

Dr. Simmons also championed a centralized women’s network with individuals in ExxonMobil’s African affiliates in Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Angola. The Pan-African group met quarterly to exchange professional development topics and share best practices in operations and technology.

She is an active senior member and advisor of two ExxonMobil employee resource groups, the Black Employee Success Team, called BEST, and the Women’s Leadership Team. Dr. Simmons served as BEST’s community outreach committee chair for two years. As a volunteer, she also spearheaded science fair judging activities and was ExxonMobil’s lead for its Walk for Education fundraiser. As a part of the Women’s Leadership Team, she participated in United Way’s Day of Caring events and the Sally Ride Festival, among other activities. She is a regular speaker and presenter at STEM forums hosted by several universities and local nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Simmons holds professional memberships with the Society of Women Engineers, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and the National Society of Black Engineers, or NSBE. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and has served as an at-large director of the organization’s philanthropic foundation. Her community service activities have included work with the Child Care Council of Greater Houston Inc., Bayou Land Conservancy, and Jack and Jill of America Inc. She has received numerous accolades highlighting her advocacy for STEAM education, volunteer service, and leadership, including SWE’s Spark Award, the NSBE’s Engineer of the Year (Houston) award, and the YMCA African American Achievers Award.

Dr. Simmons earned a B.S. in petroleum engineering at The University of Oklahoma, an M.S. in environmental engineering at Rice University, and a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology at Texas Southern University.

Dr. Simmons and her husband, Philip, have been married 29 years and have two children.