William E. Simon, Jr.

WILLIAM E. SIMON, JR. is Co-Chairman of William E. Simon & Sons, an investment firm which he co-founded in 1988 with his brother, Peter, and their father, William E. Simon, Sr., former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. William also serves as Co-Chairman of the William E. Simon Foundation and the Cynthia L. and William E. Simon, Jr. Foundation. A strong proponent of physical fitness,William is Chairman of the National Urban Squash and Education Association as well as Founder, with his wife Cindy, of the Sound Body Sound Mind Fitness Program.

William has served on many charitable boards, including Covenant House California, of which he is chairmen emeritus; the UCLA Health Systems, for whom he serves on the Board of Advisors; and St. John’s Health Center Foundation in Los Angeles, where he serves as Trustee.

A graduate of Williams College, where he is Trustee Emeritus, and Boston College Law School, Bill has a strong interest in education. He is a Visiting Professor at UCLA Law School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the UCLA Department of Economics.

William is co-author with Michael Novak of Living the Call: An Introduction to the Lay Vocation (Encounter Books, 2011). “The idea for Parish Catalyst came about largely as a result of my research for the book,” says William. “Although I was struck by the extraordinary vitality of some parishes, where there was a strong sense of community, vibrant worship, and effective outreach, I also saw plenty of parishes in a rut, where worship was rote and the congregation was shrinking. Somewhere in between were most parishes, which rolled along pretty well but could be so much more. I began to wonder what made some parishes thrive while others stall? Parish Catalyst will explore this question, and my prayer is that it will be a fruitful workshop for parish growth and spiritual renewal in the years ahead.”

William and his wife are members of St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, CA.