THE DORI ON PURPOSE SHOW
Season 1
HERstory with Toni Simmons-Henson
by Dori Ray
Toni Simmons Henson is a distinguished non-profit executive with over 30 years of experience in business development, event marketing, and arts administration. She is a published poet, a number-one best-selling author, a public speaker, and an award-winning entrepreneur dedicated to fostering creativity and organizational excellence. Notably, Henson became the first African-American executive director of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), the largest theatre conference in the U.S., where she led a significant organizational transformation, turning a projected deficit into a six-figure surplus. Additionally, her accomplishments include streamlining processes, restructuring workflows, developing new job roles, negotiating vendor contracts to optimize cost/benefits, and enhancing sponsor relationships with major companies like Disney Entertainment and Dollywood. During her tenure, she managed SETC's conventions featuring over 300 speakers, 275 breakout sessions, five theatre festivals, and two mid-year mini-conferences. In 2011, Henson founded Micah 6-8 Media, which produces the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (ABTF). Since its establishment, the ABTF has offered vital production opportunities for over 160 playwrights and a performance platform for over 3,200 artists for tens of thousands of patrons. The ABTF has notably, been recognized as one of five “top theatre festivals to visit around the world.”In 2021, she and her husband established ABTF Travels, leading over 90 artists and enthusiasts to connect with their African ancestry. During their travels, they've inspired philanthropic initiatives toward constructing an art center for a middle school in Elmina, Ghana. Henson earned her MPA in non-profit management from NYU and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University, along with executive certificates in non-profit management and women in leadership. As an artist, her poetry has taken her to stages across the globe. Married for 35 years, she and her husband are proud parents of four adult children.
You don't want to miss this AMAZING INTERVIEW with Kim "Possible" French, "The Millionaire MeMom! She shares her insights on how she has been able to stay unemployed "ON PURPOSE" She walked away from what most people would have considered a "good job" from Jefferson hospital on her lunch break and has been able to stay unemployed on purpose for 19 years. She began her entrepreneurial career as a young girl selling candy apples in school and has even sold AVON door to door as a young mother who refused to get on welfare. Her career took off when she became a notary and opened her traveling notary building which is still thriving today. She got into the Network Marketing industry after having amazing results with a product and has never looked back. She is now heavy into Digital Marketing and runs several successful digital enterprises. Kim shares how she has been able to overcome obstacles that may have taken many out of the game, even losing her oldest son to senseless gun violence in the streets of Philadelphia and a devastating fire where she lost everything she owned. She tells the story of how she ran out of the building with the clothes on her back and her twin granddaughter in her arms! Where most would have felt justified quitting, Kim used this as fuel to continue her mission to leave a legacy to her 4 grandchildren and her other Sun, as she calls him. Kim is bold, fearless and determined! You will surely be inspired to keep going towards your goals after hearing HER AMAZING STORY!