UC Regents’ Lecture: “Building a Better World Through Sports”

Sports have been an essential aspect of society dating to the formation of the modern Olympic Games. Sport brings people together and builds social connections regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic status. Sports offer an opportunity for all participants to see themselves as part of a team and working toward a common purpose. As a legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympics, the LA84 Foundation has used the games to demonstrate our ability to bridge division together and to build community, one kid at a time. But we are more socially isolated, ideologically divided and disinvested in sports and its irreplaceable value at the community level. How can we use the power of sport and advance the concept of play equity as pathways to restore trust, empathy, shared values, and a sense of belonging that make society stronger?

Guests who have questions about access accommodations (ASL or captioning) may direct questions to Ana Vazquez, Front Office Coordinator and Dept Chair Assistant, Department of Sociology.

She has elevated the LA84 Foundation’s profile as a national leader in the role that sports have in positive youth development. Simril previously was Senior VP & Chief of Staff of the Los Angeles Times, Senior Vice President of External Affairs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and for over a decade, worked in mixed-use real estate development with Jones Lang LaSalle, Forest City Development and LCOR, Inc. She served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development & Housing in the Hahn Administration, and worked in South Los Angeles after the 1992 civil unrest as Development Deputy to an LA City Councilman.