Christopher Gary Simmons

Native Philadelphian Christopher Gary Simmons hails from the modest neighboring city of Camden, New Jersey. He holds 20+ years of community engagement experience in the combined fields of non-profit-education, finance and art. He has dedicated his entire career to developing sustainable Inclusion + Belonging initiatives. A consummate social equity advocate, he has managed, directed and facilitated programming with City Year, AmeriCorps, KIPPNJ, "I Have a Dream" Foundation and private equity firm LLR Partners. Upon graduating as an honored Camden High School centennial class member, he majored in Psychology at Hampton University before transferring from the esteemed HBCU to secure his bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Temple University. He then attended graduate school at Villanova University, where he obtained an MBA focused on corporate responsibility and technology. His graduate studies aligned his previous background with a unique role at LLR Partners. As the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Engagement lead, he worked to promote an equitable growth concept of "affecting compound opportunities" building community-based service and learning partnerships. He led notable efforts at LLR including their High School Fellows program, on-boarding for new hires, "MLK Day” service and Juneteenth events with Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and African American Museum in Philadelphia. His path to University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design provided him with great appreciation for collaborative approaches to developing powerful spaces of Inclusion & Belonging.