Angus Taylor Simmons, a senior Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State, joined the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School in August, 2012 as its sixth Public Diplomat in Residence. Simmons came to the Center with over thirty years of experience in policy and program implementation, public diplomacy, negotiation, and management responsibilities. Previously, he served as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prior to that, he served two tours as head of the U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Najaf, Iraq, and as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Simmons has had various other diplomatic assignments throughout his career across Asia and South Asia. These include U.S. Consul General in Mumbai, India; U.S. Consul General in Shenyang, China; Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Burma. Simmons is a graduate of Oxford University in Oriental Studies as well as the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He speaks Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.