LT. Dantrell L. Simmons, DrPH, MA
LT. Dantrell L. Simmons, DrPH, MA
Lead Public Health Advisor
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Dr. Dantrell L. Simmons serves as a Lieutenant with the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, where he is stationed as a Lead Public Health Advisor with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In this role, Dr. Simmons spearheads the SAMHSA Block Grant Work Group, an agency-wide initiative responsible for managing over $4 billion in grant funds to provide behavioral health programs to 50 states, nine jurisdictions, and one tribal entity. Additionally, Dr. Simmons serves as subject matter expert in charge of developing, recommending, monitoring, and advising on policies and patient support services pertaining to substance use disorder prevention and treatment.
Before transitioning to SAMHSA, Dr. Simmons served as a Regulatory Health Project Manager, stationed at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the Office of Blood Research and Review. In this role, Dr. Simmons helped process over 6,000 convalescent plasma emergency Investigational New Drug applications to treat COVID-19 via compassionate use, resulting in an FDA Group Recognition (cross-cutting) award and an Outstanding Unit Citation through the Commissioned Corps.
Dr. Simmons has over ten years of public health and behavioral health experience. He completed his Doctor of Public Health degree from Jackson State University, Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University-Atlanta, and Bachelor of Science degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. Additionally, Dr. Simmons completed a Brown University doctoral fellowship where he co-authored several peer-reviewed publications, received professional mentorship, and completed course work in scientific writing, research methods, and statistics. Currently, Dr. Simmons is completing a Master of Business Administration degree.
Dr. Simmons has worked on several key public health strategies throughout his federal career, helping to reduce racial health disparities. He served as lead public health advisor over the HIV & Intimate Partner Violence program, executing a $3.1 million budget to support the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. He also served as a contributing author to the Sexually Transmitted Infections National Strategic Plan 2021-2025, the first-ever, five-year plan that aims to reverse the recent rise in STIs in the United States. Lastly, Dr. Simmons served as the Lead Office on Women’s Health scientists and contributing author on the Surgeon General’s Oral Health Report.
As a Mississippi native, Dr. Simmons recognizes the need to address racial and geography-related health disparities to ensure health equity for future generations.