Emily Simmons
Project Planning Specialist
Emily serves as a Project Planning Specialist at the Lastinger Center for Learning, primarily managing projects within the literacy department focused on implementation.
Most recently, Emily worked as the Emerging Generation Lead for a spiritual non-profit. She researched generational trends in spirituality, produced content around her findings, and consulted with other religious organizations. Prior to this she worked as a project facilitator where she learned, used, and taught the agile work principles of project management. But she got her start in her career as a teacher. She first taught music at a children’s theater company, then English to adult international students, then missiology in a global discipleship course, and finally found her passion teaching preschool right here in Gainesville. She views her education experience as invaluable as she manages these literacy implementation projects and is thrilled to help grow the impact of the Lastinger Center through project management.
Emily has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Dual Language Specialization in Arabic and Hebrew from the University of Florida. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, trees, and all things musical theater.