Marsha Simms is a native of St. Louis, MO, and a long-time resident of New York City. She graduated from Barnard College and received her law degree from Stanford Law School. She spent her professional career practicing law at major New York firms, first at Shearman & Sterling and then at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she was a partner in the Banking and Finance group at the time of her retirement in 2010.
A seminar on art and the law provided a basis for her to combine those interests in her practice. She represented Sotheby’s and after retirement was a member of its board of directors. She serves on patrons' boards at The Studio Museum in Harlem and the Black Arts Council at MoMA.
Ms. Simms was, and continues to be, active in pro bono and civic activities. She is a member of the board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she was cochair of its board of directors. From 2010–2021, she served as a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, where she chaired the Audit Committee and was a member of the Executive, Pocantico, and Compensation Committees. She also served as a trustee of the 1979 Rockefeller Family Trust.