President & CEO
LA84
Simril has elevated the LA84 Foundation national leadership in sports’ role in positive youth development since her appointment in 2016. She formed a historic collaboration with 12 pro sports teams in Southern California – as well as corporate brands and major sporting events – to expand the work of the LA84 Foundation’s charitable partner, the Play Equity Fund.
In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Simril to serve on the Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being, a statewide effort to enact policy and funding priorities to ensure healthy Californians of all ages.
In 2023, Simril was appointed by Mayor Karen Bass to serve as President of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Board of Commissioners. She previously served as Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff to the publisher of the Los Angeles Times.
Simril was Senior Vice President of External Affairs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, managing the team’s government and community relations, as well as its charitable foundation.
She began her career in the U.S. Army as a Military Police Officer, serving in Germany and domestically.
She served for over 10 years as a member of Loyola Marymount University’s Board of Regents, including as Chair of the Board in her final term. In 2023, she was invited to be a Regents’ Lecturer in the UCLA Department of Sociology, a program where distinguished leaders from outside of traditional academics enrich instruction. She was also invited to speak to the Board of Councilors at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Simril holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from USC.
She worked for over a decade in real estate development with Jones Lang LaSalle, Forest City Development and LCOR, Inc., managing the acquisition, entitlement, finance and development of mixed-income/for-rent and for-sale residential, and mixed retail/commercial projects.
Simril’s public service includes serving as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Housing in the Hahn Administration. She was also Development Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, when Simril helped steward over $5 billion to rebuild communities in South Los Angeles after the 1992 civil unrest.