Nhan-Ai (pronounced YOUNG-Eye) Simms attended The College of William and Mary for her undergraduate studies and Cumberland Law School at Samford University for her law degree. After law school, she practiced criminal law, handling a large volume of misdemeanor and felony trials in Georgia.
Nhan-Ai took an interest in Juvenile Law and in 2014 clerked for a juvenile judge in the Piedmont Circuit, primarily focusing on dependencies and child welfare, while also sitting as the Juvenile Traffic Judge. Continuing to specialize her career in juvenile law, she joined the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office where she worked for six years as an Assistant District Attorney for the Juvenile Division.
In August of 2020, Nhan-Ai made history when she was appointed to the Gwinnett County Juvenile Court bench, becoming the first Asian American to hold said office in Gwinnett County, and only the second juvenile court judge of Asian descent in the state of Georgia.
Nhan-Ai's family history is one that brings her pride and purpose: she is first generation Vietnamese-American who arrived in the U.S. in 1980, with her family having survived the treacherous escape from South Vietnam as boat refugees. Public service is a common theme in her home in Dacula, where she lives with her veteran police detective husband Jonathan and her young son Lucas.
