Helen G. Drinan is the eighth president of Simmons College and the first alumna to hold this role.  During the ten years of her presidency, she has led Simmons to a position of competitive strength financially, academically, and operationally.

Ms. Drinan’s background includes service in the United States Peace Corps in the Philippines, an opportunity which provided multicultural awareness that has significantly influenced her leadership.  Her professional career has included experience in consulting, financial services, and healthcare, and she has been recognized for her expertise in human resource leadership, particularly in the areas of executive compensation, work-life strategy, employee-customer engagement, and diversity and inclusion. 

During her tenure at Simmons, Ms. Drinan has committed herself to advocacy on behalf of women’s and girls’ education and empowerment. For this work, she has been honored by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts; Strong Women, Strong Girls; Women’s Lunch Place; and with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Arts & Education.

Helen Drinan is an undergraduate alumna of Mount Holyoke College and holds degrees from the Simmons School of Library and Information Science and the Simmons School of Business.