Wendy Simmons, PhD, Class of 1990
Wendy Simmons is a retired Foreign Service Officer. She was also an adjunct lecturer for the College of Information Studies from 2015 to 2017. For almost three years, Wendy has been a reviewer for the Department of State's FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) program.
Wendy Simmons is a retired Foreign Service Officer. She was also an adjunct lecturer for the College of Information Studies from 2015 to 2017. For almost three years, Wendy has been a reviewer for the Department of State’s FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) program. The State Department is huge, with many bureaus in Washington and almost 300 facilities (embassies and consulates) overseas. FOIA requests come from the public, most often American journalists, academics, think tanks, non-profit organizations and independent researchers; but sometimes from overseas. When information is gathered from units relevant to the request, Wendy’s role is to review material that are found to see if they are truly responsive to the requests, and then for sensitivity, privacy and national security considerations, in accordance with FOIA and privacy law. Her work is then reviewed by a bevy of lawyers and ultimately sent to their requesters.
Wendy has reviewed materials for requests on Hillary Clinton’s and Nikki Haley’s schedules, as well as cases on the travel ban, sanctions on Russia, missing videotapes from press briefings, US refugee resettlement organizations, trademark issues with Cuba and many more. Many of her colleagues (retired Foreign Service) believe their time working overseas was much more thrilling, but as an information professional and an international policy junkie, it’s a great fit for Wendy.