This Wednesday, Oct 1, the featured speaker at the Retired Men’s Association will be Nick Simmons.
Simmons, CEO OF Pursiut, will speak on “Economic Growth and Opportunity in Connecticut,” reflecting on the progress the state has made since 2019.
Drawing on his service in Governor Ned Lamont’s administration, Nick will share lessons from his experience shaping and implementing significant economic and workforce initiatives, and what lies ahead to strengthen growth, opportunity, and competitiveness.
From 2019 to 2024, Simmons served as a key advisor to Governor Lamont, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff. In that role Nick led policy formation and directed major state investments across economic development, workforce development, education, transportation, university innovation and clean energy. He led the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, a collection of the state’s workforce development and education leaders.
Simmons also led public-private partnerships with major telecommunication companies to close the K–12 digital divide, providing laptops and internet to over 100,000 students. He helped guide millions of dollars in state investments into initiatives spurring economic development such as downtown urban development, upgrading transportation infrastructure, transforming old industrial sites, and redeveloping transit hubs such as the Stamford and New Haven train stations.
He also partnered with universities to spur research and innovation, and helped launch the Connecticut Wind Collaborative to position the state as a leader in offshore wind and clean energy.
In 2021, Simmons was tapped by the Biden Administration to serve as a Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, where he helped reopen schools during the pandemic and supported the investment of $160 billion in federal education recovery funds. In 2024 Nick ran for the Connecticut State Senate to represent the 36th District which includes all of Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan.
He is currently CEO of Pursuit, a nationally recognized workforce development organization that trains individuals for high-quality jobs in the AI economy. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. and Master of Public Policy from Harvard.
The RMA Speaker Programs are free and open to the public.
The presentations are a community service free to in-person and Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. The programs begin at 11:00 am in the Parish Hall of Christ Church Greenwich, 254 E Putnam Avenue, Greenwich (Directions).
Plan your arrival, including parking time, to be seated on time. The sessions conclude at noon.
Parking is available on the Christ Church Greenwich campus, but it is limited. CLICK HERE to view and download the parking guidance.
You can watch the presentation through Zoom. CLICK HERE to join prior to the event.
The program will also be shown on Zoom at https://bit.ly/30IBj21 and on local cable channels 24 (Verizon) and 79 (Optimum)
If you wish to be added to the RMA email list announcing each program, please email [email protected]