Dr. Ella Louise Smith Simmons was recently elected as a Vice President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists--the first woman to hold this position. Shortly before, she retired from her position as Provost and Vice President for Academic Administration and Tenured Professor of Education at La Sierra University, California. Throughout her career Dr. Simmons has been dedicated to service to her profession and her church. She has been married to Nord Simmons, a retired high school teacher, for 39 years. They have two adult sons, Darryl and Christopher, a daughter-in-law, Stephanie, a teenage granddaughter, Jannette, and a three-year-old grandson, Evan. She enjoys reading, walking, traveling, cooking, and decorating.