Fremont College Announces 2017 Commencement Speaker, Christine Simmons

CERRITOS, Calif. - May 16, 2017 - PRLog -- Celebrating its 31st annual graduating class, Fremont College is proud to announce Christine Simmons, President & Chief Operations Officer of the three-time WNBA Champion Los Angeles Sparks., as its commencement speaker for 2017.

Simmons is a trailblazer in the civic and private sector with more than two decades of diversified experience with a commitment to leadership and service. Her career has soared in the upper echelons of Los Angeles' civic, business, sport and political arenas.

Simmons is in her third season leading all aspects of the team's business operations including ticket and sponsorship sales and service, marketing, game operations, communications, community relations and finance.

Her dedication and passion for giving back is illustrated by her role on the advisory council of Better Futures for Thomazeau, a grassroots organization that lends aid to impoverished communities in Haiti.

Prior to joining the Sparks, she was an Executive Vice President with Magic Johnson Enterprises where she would evaluate investment opportunities and was responsible for business development. With over a decade of leadership experience in creating strategic alliances, leading business development and driving corporate initiatives, Christine has worked with many Fortune 500 corporations and multi-million dollar companies.

A proud UCLA graduate, she serves as President of the Board of the UCLA Alumni Association and was recently named one of the inaugural Remarkable Women of UC by UC Janet Napolitano.

Simmons' presence on campus and her success story will serve as a beacon of hope for graduating students, said Fremont College Chancellor Dr. Sabrina Kay.

"Christine is an inspiration at so many levels," Kay said. "We're both trying to reach young people with a view to make them the best they can be and want to be in life. Christine was someone who learned very early on that you grow when you're outside of your comfort zone. She persevered as the only female in her military police unit and stepped outside her comfort zone engaging in combat and carrying heavy guns and ammunition. I'm confident that our students are going to learn a lot from Renata and will be truly motivated by Renata's positive message."

The 2017 Fremont College Graduation ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 24, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

About Fremont College

The mission of Fremont College is to close the gap between the traditional classroom and the 21st-century workplace. As an innovator in professional education, Fremont College is invested in the innovative, relevant, and useful methods of learning including: an Ivy League-inspired project-based learning; vertically integrated apprenticeship learning; unbundled and just-in-time certifications; flipped, blended and personalize learning; and heart-centered learning.  With campuses in Los Angeles and Cerritos and offering both online, blended and on-campus modalities, Fremont College offers bachelor's and associate's degrees in PATHS (Paralegal, Administration, Technology, Healthcare, and Sports Therapy) programs that matter to our lives. For more information about Fremont College and its unique learning models, visit https://fremont.edu.

Past Fremont College commencement speakers include: Brent Bushnell, Founder and CEO of Two Bit Circus; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Jarl Mohn, President of NPR and Co-Founder of E! Entertainment and MTV; Eric Affeldt, CEO of ClubCorp and #1 on Golf Inc.'s most-powerful people in golf; Shawn Hunter, Former Chivas USA President; Matt Nordgren, Dallas' Most Eligible reality star; and Dr. Dexanne Clohan, Chief Medical Officer of HealthSouth and the most influential woman in medicine by Health magazine; and Keith Ferazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back.