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Lisa Simmons is the Artistic/Executive Director of the Roxbury International Film Festival and Program Manager for the Mass Cultural Council^[1]. Simmons founded the Roxbury International Film Festival (previously Dudley Film Festival and Roxbury Film Festival)^[2] in 1998,^[3] curating films that celebrate people of color across genres and showcase diverse experiences, while providing a space for filmmakers to network.^[4] In addition to her work with the Robxury International Film Festival, Simmons has acted in the past, produced live theater, and is continuing to write a documentary on the history of Boston's Black theatre during the WPA.^[5] She is a fourth-generation Roxbury native. In 2023, she was recognized as one of "Boston’s most admired, beloved, and successful Black Women leaders" by the Black Women Lead project.

Lisa Simmons is a fourth generation Bostonian. Her grandfather worked within theater in Boston as a stage manager, as part of the WPA Federal Theater Project, under sub project provisions for Negro theater ^{[6] [7]}. Lisa cites an early love for films such as Fantasia (1940) and Hello, Dolly! (1969) as developing her love for film^[7]. Lisa worked for over twenty years as an actress in the city of Boston, focused on theater ^[8].

Lisa cites experiences recognizing in auditions that actors of color were often reduced to physical attributes rather than depth of performance as in impetus for founding the Color of Film Collaborative, Inc., ^[9] an organization focused on "support[ing] and create[ing] diverse images of people of color in film, video, theater and other media"^[10]. The outgrowth of this group lead her to found the Roxbury International Film Festival in 1998.^[7] Lisa explained to The Boston Globe in 2024 that the festival was focused on "bring[ing] audiences and filmmakers alike who are unearthing stories for us to understand" the experiences of filmmakers of color. ^[2]

In 2024, the Roxbury International Film Festival celebrated 25 years of programming, and established several funds for supporting filmmakers of color.^[11]

• Image Award from Women in Film New England ^[12]
• Diversity award from Our Place Theater Project ^[12]
• Leadership Award from the Urban League Guild of Eastern Massachusetts ^[12]