Commencement
Commencement
The ceremony will be held in-person on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm under a tent on the Blodgett Lawn. Additional seating will be available in the McConnell Theater. The event will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person.
Seating will be on a first-come basis.
Commencement Speaker
Chloe Demrovsky ’01
Chloe Demrovsky is an experienced executive leader with a distinguished career advising Fortune 100 companies, startups, consortia, and government on all aspects of emergency management. Recognized for her forward-thinking approach, she leverages present market fundamentals and technological innovation to drive transformation across industries. Demrovsky is currently Executive in Residence in Global Business and Economy at NYU where she oversees research on topics from geoeconomics and weaponized interdependence to emerging advanced technologies and cryptocurrency. She is also the Founder of Edgewood Insights, an advisory firm at the nexus of risk and resilience.
From 2017 to 2024, she served as the President and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, the global leader in operational resilience and business continuity training and credentialing after having served since 2014 as Executive Director. Under her leadership, the institute doubled in size to support over 20,000 certified professionals in operational risk, business continuity and cyber resilience across 110+ countries, including at 95% of Fortune 100 and 60% of Global 2000 companies. She provided training services primarily for financial services, technology, healthcare, government and consulting. She built strategic partnerships and represented the brand in important forums including ISO Technical Committee 292 for Societal Security and Resilience and annual research with Harvard University’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative.
As a senior Forbes contributor, Demrovsky’s insights have been featured across major media outlets like Fox News, CBS News, CNBC, Newsmax, News Nation, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, and Sky News. She’s also been a reliable source for leading publications, including The Financial Times, AP, BBC, USA Today, and ABC News. A sought-after speaker, she has presented at 150+ events on five continents and briefed government bodies such as the US Congress, the European Commission, and the UN. In 2024, she served on the FEMA National Advisory Council, evidencing her impact and recognition in her field.
Demrovsky’s affiliations reflect her dedication to global and community engagement. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Crain’s New York 2023 Notable Leader, and holds fellowships with the US-Japan Foundation, the French-American Foundation and the British-American Project. Her work has been recognized with current board appointments at the French-American Foundation (Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee) and Tier 1 automotive supplier OPmobility’s (EPA: POM) Global Advisory Board and previously at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Global ARISE private sector partnerships board (2020–23) and Bard College at Simon’s Rock (Vice-Chair) (2019–24). She holds a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Bard College at Simon’s Rock and a Master of Science with distinction in Global Affairs: International Business, Economics and Development from New York University.
Fluent in four languages and a world traveler with visits to over 55 countries, Demrovsky resides in New York with her husband and family.
Calendar of Events
Wednesday, May 7
Thesis Celebration and Thesis Signing
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Hall College Center Patio
Wednesday, May 7
Affinity Graduation
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm, Blodgett House
Thursday, May 15
Bachelor of Arts Candlelight Dinner
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Dance Studio (DAC)
Friday, May 16*
Community Picnic
11:30 am – 1:30 pm, Blodgett Circle
Friday, May 16
Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts Commencement Eve Dinner
4:45 pm – 6:30 pm, Dining Hall
Saturday, May 17*
56th Commencement Ceremony
11:00 am – 1:00 pm, Commencement Tent on Blodgett Lawn
Saturday, May 17*
56th Commencement Reception
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Blodgett Lawn
*Event is open to families and friends.
*Just three miles from Bard’s College at Simon’s Rock, the newly renovated East Rock Inn is the perfect home base for your family’s celebrations. We offer stylish comfort and a convenient location for all of the scheduled festivities at the college, as well as downtown Great Barrington restaurants and shops. We are excited to extend a special offer of 15% off our standard rates, plus free early check-in and late check-out when available, to Bard College at Simon’s Rock families and alumni. Use code SimonsRock24 on our website, www.eastrockinn.com.