Richard Simon is the Director of Online Strategy at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C., where he has managed their website and digital properties since 2010. He is an expert on content strategy and user experience design, and has spoken publicly, including at Confab Higher Ed in Philadelphia.
Simon began his career working as a multimedia reporter at The Daily Record newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland. He won a number of awards for his work, including first prize at the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Press Awards in 2010 for use of interactive media. Simon’s most trafficked stories at the paper included: “Two Recording Studios in the City Take Different Paths to Success” (which was accompanied by a multimedia package), “Baltimore, A Mini Silicon Valley?” and Baltimore’s New Crop of Guardian Angels.”
Simon, a graduate of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, studied Communications & Media Studies and was President of the college radio station. While there, Simon worked for several local media outlets, including the Baltimore Sun, Fox-45 Baltimore, Patuxent Publishing and WYPR. It was at WYPR that Simon was mentored by NPR’s award-winning journalist Sunni Khalid.
Recognizing that he had an unhealthy relationship with his smartphone, Simon turned it off for an entire year in 2020. He still owns an iPhone, but keeps it off for days, sometimes weeks at a time. His book, THE ART OF BREAKING UP WITH YOUR PHONE, tells the story of what that year was like and includes advice on how to do it yourself, what to do with all your newfound time, and how it can lead to a happier, healthier life. Forthcoming in 2025 from Workman.