[7] Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, and a graduate of Boston University's College of Communication (1988) and School of Education (1994),[8] Simons joined the staff of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1993 and was appointed its president and CEO in 2005.
[11] Simons initiated the Lifetime Achievement Award program at the New England Historic Genealogical Society which has attracted numerous high-profile individuals to the organization as members and honorees.
Recipients have included the prize-winning authors David McCullough and Stacy Schiff;[12] actress Dame Angela Lansbury;[13] filmmaker Ken Burns;[14] historian Doris Kearns Goodwin;[15] and former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major;.
[18] The Art of Family: Genealogical Artifacts in New England, co-edited with Peter Benes, and essays by Simons, Abbott Lowell Cummings, John Putnam Demos, Wendell Garrett, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.
In 2006, the American Association for State and Local History, conferred its Award of Merit on Simons for his book Witches, Rakes and Rogues: True Stories of Scam, Scandal, Murder and Mayhem, in Boston, 1630-1775.