Oakland, CA - When 29 year-old Lateefah Simon recently received the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship honoring her exceptional achievements in improving women’s lives, her first thought was “now I can go to college!” It’s a long way from working at Taco Bell for $4.50 per hour as a youth, to receiving $500,000 from MacArthur for her work in keeping thousands of girls from jail or the street, and now she is realizing her next dream of completing college as a public policy major at Mills.

Relentless in her desire to change society, at the age of 18 she began reaching out to young women involved in what she calls the “street economy,” women working as prostitutes and drug dealers, and experiencing homelessness. She provided approximately 3,500 women per year “tools for getting through the day,” from hugs to referrals for support. In 1997, her work evolved into the Center for Young Women’s Development which now has a $1.2 million budget, has hired more than 250 girls, and trained former gang members who bring resiliency, foresight, and adaptability into their new lives. Simon eventually trained women from the streets and the juvenile justice system to run the Center.

When she decided to attend college, Simon was courted by institutions such as Harvard Law School and the University of California at Berkeley, but she chose Mills because she says “Mills is magic. I am surrounded here by women who are driven and passionate about creating possibilities for our world. I am inspired to keep learning – I have found my intellectual home.”

For Simon, “better” will mean using her Mills education to transform welfare and federal housing policy, and to fight the war on drugs through criminal justice reform. 

In 2005, Simon was recognized as a “California Woman of the Year” by the California State Assembly, and received a “Women of Purpose Award” from the Women’s Foundation of California, as well as an “Intrepid Award” from the National Organization for Women.

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently ranked among the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills is also recognized as one of the country’s 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges. The Princeton Review selected Mills as one of 11 colleges for first-time inclusion in its Best 361 Colleges–2005. Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity.

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