Patti Simms

CEO & COO

Patti Simms has been the Chief Executive Officer of Operation Dignity since 1988. During this time she has developed and run programs and services to provide assistance for low income housing residents moving toward independent living, self-sufficiency and/or appropriate supported community living. She has worked with Public housing in Atlanta, Detroit, Buffalo and Miami and has raised over $350,000 annually to support the many programs with these housing projects.

Patti began an international work in Iquitos, Peru in 1998 and has continued to support and expand programs such as:

partnering with Habitat for Humanity and built 12 homes for local families
dug fresh water wells for needy communities in the jungle (over 40 active wells)
established Milk, Rice and Beans Programs; trained and mentored programs for local street kids to learn revenue-generating skills
worked with local clinics to take medical teams up the Amazon River to provide needed dentistry and medical care
established relationships with local government and churches; campaign stateside with companies and charities to acquire items to send in containers to Peru once or twice a year with hygiene products, food, clothing and medical supplies.

Patti was recognized by former President George H.W. Bush as the 707th Point of Light recipient.

Also recognized by HUD Director, Jack Kemp, as creating a model for successful programs in impoverished communities in the Southeast and Caribbean.

When not working with Operation Dignity Patti is an accomplished Real Estate broker who began her career in Atlanta, GA in 1990 with Waterfront Fine Homes, LLC and later partnered with Ocean Reed Club, in Florida in 2009.

In addition to her success as a Real Estate broker, Patti worked with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs from 2007 to 2010 on a cooperatively funded downtown revitalization project. She worked as the Main Street Manager/Downtown Development Director for Hampton, GA and the Better Hometown Manager in Porterdale, GA.