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David Simas JD’95, assistant to the President of the United States and director of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, will give the address at the 2015 Boston College Law School Commencement on May 22.
The Law School’s graduation ceremonies will take place at Conte Forum beginning at 10:30 a.m.
A native of Taunton, Mass., and the son of immigrant Portuguese factory workers who never completed elementary school, Simas – who earned his undergraduate degree from Stonehill College – went into private practice after graduating from BC Law. He sat on the Taunton City Council before his election as county registrar, then served as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s deputy chief of staff before becoming a central part of President Obama’s 2012 campaign, overseeing much of the polling and focus groups.
Following the president’s reelection, Simas joined the White House and in January of 2014 was named to head up its new Office of Political Strategy and Outreach. In addition to coordinating White House political strategy and outreach activities, the office serves as the main point of contact for national, state and local political groups, works with constituent and political groups and plans and crafts big-picture strategies to achieve White House goals.
Interviewed by BC Law Magazine last year, Simas said his education at the school – and BC Law’s commitment to public service – prepared him for his career in politics.
“The ability to quickly dive into an issue, make sense of it, and then formulate it into a discussion either advocating or opposing a position...That is absolutely core.” [The article is available online at http://bit.ly/1OiTZEP.]
“I am very pleased that David has agreed to be our Commencement speaker,” said BC Law Dean Vincent Rougeau. “He has a long record of service, both locally through Governor Patrick’s office here in Massachusetts and in the White House. His leadership as one of the president’s closest advisors and his work on the Affordable Care Act is something our students will be very interested in hearing more about, and I’m looking forward to welcoming him back to campus.”
More information on the Law School Commencement is available at www.bc.edu/lawcommencement.