Adele Simmons, PhD

Practiced as Certified Public Accountant for almost six years with the Accounting firm of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Los Angeles, California, developing an expertise in real estate. Since 1973, he has syndicated approximately 100 limited partnerships acquiring and disposing of in excess of $1,000,000,000 in real estate. He has owned and operated in excess of 18,000 apartments; 500,000 ft. of shopping centers; 5 hotels totaling 948 rooms; approximately 850,000 square feet of office buildings; a golf course and in excess of 2,000 acres of land and has converted in excess of 700 apartments into condominiums.

In addition to the real estate investments, other significant investments include a national mail order company located in Cleveland, Ohio, a bank holding company, contact lens manufacturer, both located in Phoenix, Arizona and an auto dealership located in Santa Barbara, California.

A position she has held since February, 2009. Ms. Myers oversees the Company’s global innovation initiatives and is also responsible for implementing environmental sustainability and social responsibility efforts through brands, global affiliates, facilities, and corporate departments.

Ms. Myers is a proven leader in innovation, with more than 30 years experience in the Company. Prior to her current role, Ms. Myers was Global President of Origins, where she co-founded the brand and led the launch of the groundbreaking Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins and Origins Organic collections.

Other positions within the Company included senior management roles at Aveda, co-founder of BeautyBank and time with Aramis, where she was responsible for the introduction of several initiatives, including Lab Series Skincare for Men.

A summa cum laude graduate of Hunter College in New York, Ms. Myers holds a B.A. Degree in French and Italian Literature. She is a member of both the Fashion Group International and Cosmetics Executive Women. She has developed programs to raise funds for several not-for-profit initiatives, including Project Sunshine, which provides free services and programs to children living with medical challenges, on whose board she sits as a Director, and the Integrative Therapies Program for Children with Cancer, in the Division of Pediatrics Oncology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She is also a Director on the board of The Weil Foundation, which supports the advancement of integrative medicine through training, research, education and policy reform.

Adele co-chaired the 2010 Chicago Climate Action Plan. She was Vice-Chair of Chicago Metropolis 2020, and co-chaired the Council on Global Affairs’ work: The Global Edge: an Agenda for Chicago’s Future. Adele helped found the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network (sustainability leaders from 124 cities in the U.S. and Canada), and coordinates a network of sustainability officers from Chicago’s global corporations, and a network of Chicago area universities. She recently started The Simmons Center for Global Chicago where non-profit organizations that work in Chicago can share space and connect to share ideas.

Adele was President of the MacArthur Foundation (1989-1999), focusing on the environment, population, international peace & security, and climate change. She was Vice Chair of Metropolis Strategies leading work on sustainability and early childhood education. She served on the World Bank Institute’s Global Equity Initiative, President Carter’s World Hunger Commission, President Bush’s Sustainable Development Commission, the Global Governance Commission, the UN High Level Sustainable Development Advisory Board, and many non-profit and corporate boards including Marsh & McLennan from 1977–2015.

Adele sits on the boards of the Field Museum, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, The American Prospect, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Synergos Institute.

Adele was President of Hampshire College, dean at Princeton and Tufts Universities, and a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers. She received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her doctorate from Oxford University in African studies.