Stefanie Simons

Stefanie was a kid who stayed up nights reading with a flashlight, always with a pen to take notes. So, as her Cambio co-workers know, Stefanie’s thirst for knowledge and organization run deep.

After studying Latin American Studies and Literary Arts at Brown University, Stefanie began her career in project management as an events/public programs professional, including time at PEN America (formerly PEN American Center). She has applied her operational know-how across fields, from corporate to small business, nonprofit to start-up. This includes developing programs and materials across the nation for The New York Times, Macmillan Learning, Brown University, San Francisco AIDS Walk, Zyzzyva literary magazine, and many small businesses. Stefanie also edits, reads for literary prizes, and has served on literary journals.

Today, as a project manager for the Exploratorium in San Francisco, Stefanie serves as a hub between specific projects and institution-wide goals and operations. Her current projects include the NSF-funded Cambio project, supporting the ongoing efforts of the Latinx Coordinating Committee and the Exhibits department. Stefanie also thinks a lot about change. Like how heat can modify the molecular structure of a protein, or how, when people step outside the expected, our whole way of seeing can be exploded. This interest in change and revelation guides Stefanie in her career—and it’s also a reason she’s excited to support the transformative work of Cambio.