Elly Simmons ( Helen D'vorah) is an internationally exhibited artist, filmmaker and activist living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Elly was raised on Sacramento Street, next to the Vogue Theater and attended San Francisco public schools, Madison, Roosevelt, and Washington High.

Elly Simmons has works in numerous public collections, including The New York Public Library Department of Prints and Drawings, The Schomberg Museum in Harlem, The Smithsonian Institute, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Packard Foundation, The Skirball Museum and The San Francisco Arts Commission. Private collectors include The Honorable Lynn Woolsey, President Barak Obama, Pete Seeger, Rosalie Sorrels, Taj Mahal, Robin Williams, Claire Greensfelder, and Poet Laureate of California Juan Felipe Herrera. Current projects include The Al-Mutanabbi Book Arts Project, Last Call: The Specs Film, and an ongoing exploration of family and community roots.