About Meenakshi.

Past

Meenakshi (Meena) Simmons was raised in northern Minnesota, cementing her love of the Great Lakes region from an early age.

As a young adult, Meena served in the United States Navy, working as a police officer, Anti-Terrorism & Force-Protection Officer, and a Field Training Officer within the U.S. Fleet Forces Command headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. While serving on active duty she also attended college, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and psychology from Old Dominion University.

Upon graduation, Meenakshi was offered positions with the United
States Capitol Police and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. However, following the election of former president Barack Obama, she witnessed a negative shift in attitude throughout the military and law enforcement communities in regards to women and minorities.

Believing that if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem, she walked away from what had been her dream of public service as a federal law enforcement official.

Desperately missing the upper mid-west, Meena applied for and was accepted to pursue her master's in criminal justice at Michigan State University. It was during this time she met the born-and-raised Lansing-ite who would become her husband.

Despite moving several times for employment, Meenakshi always returned to Lansing.

Present

For the past few years, Meenakshi has held a seat on the Board of Directors for a local-nonprofit that provides a diverse and inclusive community for home-schooled students and their families. She currently serves as their Secretary and Director of Safety. Meena currently works as an Election Inspector, and has an interest in voting rights and election integrity. In 2026, Meenakshi was also appointed Vice Chair for the Ingham County Democratic Party.

Meenakshi currently resides in the Quentin Park neighborhood of south Lansing with her husband, two children and deceptively adorable dog.

Future

Upon appointment to Ingham County Democratic Party leadership team, Meenakshi wrote a letter to all party members detailing why, despite the state of American politics, she was choosing to step up:

"... to provide representation for other young families whose current struggles to survive preclude their ability to engage; to learn more about the people of Lansing and swing-state intricacies; to gain the tools to best defend my community from those who would see it broken; and finally, to ensure that in the future when my children are learning about this period in history I can unequivocally state that I fought back against what would have otherwise been the downfall of our nation and worked to create a future that my kids can thrive within, as opposed to just survive."