Graduation Features Former USAID Director
Henrietta Holsman Fore, a recognized leader in business, corporate boards, the U.S. government, the United Nations and nonprofit organizations, speaks at Westmont Commencement on Saturday, May 9, at 9:30 a.m. at Westmont’s Thorrington Field. President Gayle D. Beebe presents Westmont Medals to William and Nancy Kimsey, who have made contributions to international accounting, the greater Santa Barbara area, and to generously supporting Westmont.
About 300 graduates will walk during Commencement, 134 with academic honors, including two ROTC students and veterans. More than 50 Golden Warriors from the class of 1976 will march in the procession and celebrate their 50th reunion. Twenty-two members of the seventh cohort of the Westmont Downtown | Grotenhuis Nursing program will participate in Commencement two days after their pinning ceremony on Thursday, May 7, at Montecito Covenant Church.
Commencement will be closed to the general public and livestreamed at westmont.edu/commencement.
Fore served as the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and directed U.S. Foreign Assistance — the first woman in these positions. She worked as undersecretary of state for management, COO for the U.S. Department of State, director of the U.S. Mint in the U.S. Department of Treasury, and executive director of UNICEF.
William Kimsey, a business executive who served for more than 30 years at EY (formerly Ernst & Young), a global auditing and accounting firm, retired from the company in 2002 as their global CEO. Following his tenure in corporate leadership, he founded and serves as managing director of Kimsey Consulting. He also oversees Kimsey Vineyard, a 45-acre boutique wine estate in Ballard Canyon.
Nancy Kimsey, who cofounded Kimsey Vineyard with her husband, is a dedicated philanthropist who has served on the board of the Dream Foundation and cochaired the Mother’s Day luncheon for the Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care organization. Her commitment to the community extends to cofounding the home décor store Legacy, a venture specifically designed to raise funds for local hospice services.
The Westmont Medal honors those whose lives embody the principles associated with the character of the college. Past recipients include Steven and Denice Fellows, Lindsay and Laurie Parton, Christine and Robert Emmons, Rolf Geyling, David and Anna Grotenhuis, Palmer Jr. and Susan Jackson, Gerd Jordano, Jonathan Walker, Katherine Wiebe, Ron Werft and John Davies, to name a few.
Graduates Kaisa Lindman-Marshall and Anthony Gose will offer student reflections.