Angela M. Simms

          Angela Simms is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at Barnard College-Columbia University. She studies the political economy of U.S. metropolitan areas, more specifically, the capacity of suburban Black middle-class jurisdictions to provide high-quality public goods and services. Angela has a forthcoming book, titled: Fighting for a Foothold: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia, which will be published in February of 2026.

          She has published articles related to local government financial capacity, including “Fiscal Fragility in Black Middle-Class Suburbia and Consequences for K-12 Public Schools,” in The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences (2023); and “COVID-19, Black Jurisdictions, and Budget Constraints: How Fiscal Footing Shapes Fighting the Virus,” in Racial and Ethnic Studies (2021).

          Angela serves as a co-chair of Columbia Population Research Center’s Working Group on Urbanism and Neighborhoods. She is also on the editorial board of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity Journal. During the 2023-2024 academic year, Angela was a Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar.

          Prior to academia, Angela served in the federal government for seven years as a Presidential Management Fellow and legislative analyst at the Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama Administrations.