Amber M. Simmons has a PhD in language and literacy education from the University of Georgia and seventeen years of teaching experience. She has received a number of awards, including the ISLS Founder Emerging Scholar Award, NASFLA Promising Scholar Award, Atlanta Families' Award for Excellence in Education, Brookwood High School Teacher of the Year, Gwinnett County Public Schools Teacher of the Year (finalist), GCTE Teacher of the Year, and an NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence Award. Her work and previous publications center on supporting student growth and developing language awareness in the high school ELA classroom through the introduction of SFL and social-emotional learning practices. She currently lives in Flowery Branch, GA, with her husband and two children, where she continues to serve as a high school language arts teacher.