Dr. Sims is the Executive Director and CEO of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network. Prior to joining WEPAN she served as Interim President of the SC Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. She was the first black person and first woman to lead SCGSSM. She began her career at GSSM as Vice President for the Accelerate Virtual Engineering Program and later became Senior Vice President for Virtual and Outreach Programs. Prior to GSSM, Dr. Sims was the inaugural Dean of Engineering and Technology at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) which housed the Engineering and Computer Science programs, as well as the Peter T. Haughton Fabrication and Innovation Lab. During her tenure at NCSSM, Dr. Sims developed and taught courses in Statics, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Research, and Biomedical Instrumentation.

At WEPAN, Dr. Sims serves as an investigator on several NSF-funded projects. She is the PI of Amplifying the Alliance To Catalyze Change For Equity In STEM Success (ACCESS+), Co-PI of the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network, Co-PI of the KnowlEDGE Initiative, and Co-PI of the NCWIT ADVANCE Partnership grant. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Women of Color in Engineering Collaborative (WCEC) as well as the Executive Steering Board for the THRIVE Partnership.
 
Ershela has also been involved in outreach activities through national organizations as well as NCSSM. She was the Director for Step Up to STEM, a 2-week residential STEM program for rising ninth grade students. In addition, she was the lead developer of the Biomedical Engineering (Health and Life Science) strand for an NCSSM curriculum development project for the NC Dept. of Public Instruction. Sims' outreach work has been featured on JJ DiGeronimo’s Tech Savvy Woman: 5 Minutes with NC STEM State Leader & STEM Award Winner as well as PBS Black Issues Forum: Step Up STEM.
 
Dr. Sims completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Biomechanics in the Department of Surgery at Duke University, where she worked on an NIH funded longitudinal study investigating gait mechanics associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Following her postdoctoral fellowship, she taught anatomy courses in the medical school at Duke University for two years. Prior to working in academia, she worked as a software design engineer and later a technical architect at Nortel Networks for five years developing telecommunications software. Following her work in industry, she worked as the Assistant Director of the Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center for two years, where she performed functional MRI research and managed a number of ongoing research projects.
 
Dr. Sims holds a BSE in BME from Duke University and PhD in BME from the UNC at Chapel Hill. She is a lifetime member of the National Society of Black Engineers as well as a member of several other professional associations including ASEE and BMES. She is a member of several professional associations including the National Society of Black Engineers (lifetime member #412), American Society for Engineering Education, and Biomedical Engineering Society.

Dr. Sims serves her community through multiple boards including the Florence-Darlington Technical College Area Commission, where she currently serves as chair, and the Columbia College Board of Trustees. Her accolades include the NSBE Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Golden Torch Award, National Science Teachers Association Vernier Technology Award and the NC School of Science and Mathematics Exceptional Contribution in Teaching through Scholarship and Keeper of the Dream awards.