Cat Simmons is a Washington, D.C./Maryland-based photographic artist, educator, and researcher who employs photography as a means of exploring memory, identity, trauma, and transformation through the physical manipulation of photographic materials. Working at the intersection of portraiture, recovery, and the materiality of the photograph as memory, she approaches the photograph not as a fixed record of the past, but as an object capable of being deconstructed, reimagined, and reconstructed as a way of recontextualizing pain into a source of empowerment, agency, and self-discovery. Her practice centers on the belief that images are not passive recordings of experience, but active participants in shaping identity, memory, and the ongoing evolution of self. Drawing from interests in philosophy, psychology, and visual culture, Simmons investigates how photographs influence personal narratives and contribute to the ways individuals understand both who they have been and take power over who they are becoming.

Simmons earned a BA in Women's Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, before dedicating nearly two decades to raising her six children. She later returned to academia, earning a Certificate in Photography from Montgomery College and an MFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2021.

As an educator, Simmons is passionate about helping others discover photography as a powerful tool for visual expression, self-inquiry, and transformation. She has taught courses in digital photography, portraiture, studio lighting, conceptual project development, digital editing, and graphic design. She currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design and Site Coordinator for Salisbury University at the Universities at Shady Grove, where she mentors emerging artists and designers while maintaining an active studio practice.