Diane Simpson (born April 7, 1969, in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

) is an American athlete, an Olympian and an eight-time

Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

national team member, and was inducted into the

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and traini ...

Hall of Fame, Class of 2004. She is a media marketing communications consultant and project manager who writes, produces and manages talent, events and operations logistics / hospitality for clients, sponsors and stakeholders. She was the first rhythmic gymnast to twice qualify a spot for the United States into the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and

1992 Summer Olympic Games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. She was inducted into the

Evanston Township High School Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202, is a four-year public high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston ...

Athletic Hall of Fame. Simpson won more than 20 international medals, three Olympic Festival titles, and 22 national titles – including winning all four event finals and the All-Around title at the 1988 U.S. National Championships in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

– during her career.

Competitive history

1985 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships 1985 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Valladolid, Spain on October 10–13, 1985. Participants The following countries sent competitor(s) Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Den ...

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The Game ...

– ::Finals *1986 Four Continents Championships competition *

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

::Won two gold medals and two silver medals at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis in 1987. *

1987 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships 1987 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Varna, Bulgaria Varna ( bg, Варна, ) is the third-largest List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black ...

*1988 Four Continents Championships competition *

Team ::One of two rhythmic gymnasts on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team -- the third of 10 American individual rhythmic gymnasts to qualify for the Olympic Games. * 1989 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships ::Finals competitor *

1990 Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, United ...

*1990 Four Continents Championships competition *

1991 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships The XV World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Piraeus, Greece, at Peace and Friendship Stadium, on October 9–13, 1991. Individual All-around Rope Hoop Ball Clubs Team Group All-around Exercise 6 ribbons Exerc ...

*1991 Pan American Games ::Won the bronze medal at the team event at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...

in Havana, Cuba. *1992 Won the Mariana Grajalas competition in Cuba *2004 United States Gymnastics Hall of Fame

Business career

Education and work

Simpson graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

’s

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...

with a double major in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

(Honors) http://chicagopartner.com/bios/Diane_Simpson.pdf and worked as a media relations and events specialist at the

College of American Pathologists The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is a member-based physician organization founded in 1946 comprising approximately 18,000 board-certified pathologists. It serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating ...

. She was manager of athlete relations and communications at Chicago 2016 and a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times for 10 years before her work with Diane Simpson Consulting. She has worked

news broadcasting News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and with other national television news and radio stations, including WJWJ-TV in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

, WBBM-TV, WMAQ-TV,

WFLD WFLD (channel 32) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed MyNetworkTV ...

-TV FOX 32,

WMVP WMVP (1000 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, carrying a sports format. Owned by Good Karma Brands, the station serves the Chicago metro area as the market affiliate of ESPN Radio, the flagship station of the Chica ...

-AM 1000. She returned to writing news for CBS Channel 2 in 2015. She has also served as advance, fundraiser and as Illinois press coordinator for Sen.

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

for President in 2004 and as a public affairs specialist. Currently she works as activation media marketing communications producer/writer and event project manager / hospitality liaison for clients.

Chicago 2016 Olympics bid

Simpson held the role of manager of athlete relations and communications for the

Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics The Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics was an unsuccessful bid, first recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on September 14, 2007. The IOC shortlisted four of the seven applicant cities—Madrid, Spain; T ...

from 2006 to 2009. She accompanied about 20 Olympians and elite athletes—including

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

, Michael Johnson,

Edwin Moses Edwin Corley Moses (born August 31, 1955) is an American former track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) an ...

Nastia Liukin Anastasia "Nastia" Liukin (; russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина ; born October 30, 1989) is a Russian-born American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic All-Around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, ...

Bart Conner Bart Wayne Conner (born March 28, 1958) is a retired American Olympic gymnast. As a member of the US men's gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Conner won two gold medals. He owns and operates the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in N ...

Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10. ...

Willie Banks William Augustus Banks III (born March 11, 1956) is an American athlete. Born at Travis Air Force Base, California, he grew up in San Diego County and went to Oceanside High School. Banks is an Eagle Scout. Track and Field Banks was a track & ...

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

Brandi Chastain Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...

and David Diaz—to

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, for the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

Host City announcement that took place Oct. 2, 2009.

Post-Olympics career

Simpson was president of the Midwest Chapter of U.S. Olympians and Paralympians, the regional chapter of the U.S. Olympians Association. Her term began in 2006 and she was re-elected in 2012 before completing her role in 2020. She also serves as secretary of the Female Athlete Triad Coalition, a 501(c)(3) global health advocacy collaboration. She lives with her two children, Alexis (23), and Jonathan (17.) She has been certified as an

American College of Sports Medicine The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a sports medicine and exercise science membership organization. Founded in 1954, ACSM holds conferences, publishes books and journals, and offers certific ...

Certified

Personal Trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

Media appearances

Film and television

Served as a

Turner Sports Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...

commentator at the

1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held i ...

. Performer in "Best Years of Our Lives" music video for BaHa Men. Performer in 1989 American Music Awards. Miss Moscow News, 1988.

Magazines, newspapers

Appeared in '' Mademoiselle'' in 1989. The magazine ceased publication in 2001.

References

External links

*U.S. Olympians & Paralympians Association—Midwest

*Olympians for Olympians Relief Fund (OORF)

*USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame:

*US Olympians Association

*US Olympians Leadership Team 2009-2012

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Diane 1969 births Living people Gymnasts at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for the United States Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois American rhythmic gymnasts Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Evanston Township High School alumni Gymnasts at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in gymnastics 21st-century American women