Obama Cabinet member Maria Contreras-Sweet to receive honorary doctorate from Cal State LA

LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maria Contreras-Sweet, an accomplished entrepreneur and Cal State LA alumna who serves in President Barack Obama's Cabinet as the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters during Cal State LA's 69^th Commencement. She will also deliver the keynote address.

WHO:
Contreras-Sweet has worked more than 30 years in the public and private sectors and has led efforts to support entrepreneurial initiatives that have helped underserved community members improve their lives. She was raised in Baldwin Park and majored in political science and public administration at Cal State LA.

WHEN:     
Friday, June 10, 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.      

WHERE:   
University Athletics Stadium at the Billie Jean King Sports Complex at Cal State LA. Parking for the media is available in Lot 4 near the Administration building. Proceed to Gate F by the stadium (side entrance near the baseball field) and check in at the media booth to be escorted to a media viewing area. Click here for a campus map.   

MORE:           
Prior to serving in President Obama's Cabinet, Contreras-Sweet was appointed as secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. In overseeing the influential state agency she became the first Latina to hold a cabinet position in California. Contreras-Sweet later founded ProAmérica Bank, a Latino-owned community financial institution in Los Angeles that provides capital to small and mid-size businesses. 

Contreras-Sweet was selected to serve on the Harvard Women's Leadership Board, which advises the university and supports research opportunities for professors who are women. She was a founding director of The California Endowment, a multi-billion dollar philanthropic foundation that helps organizations address healthcare inequality in California. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Contreras-Sweet came to the U.S. at age 5. She learned the value of hard work from her single mother, who worked at a poultry processing plant east of Los Angeles to help her family make ends meet.

In recognition of her distinguished career, her contributions helping individuals achieve socioeconomic success and her role as a community advocate for equal opportunity, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and Cal State LA are proud to confer upon Contreras-Sweet the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

CONTACTS:        
Robert Lopez: (323) 343-3044 [email protected]
Margie Low: (323) 343-3047 [email protected]

SOURCE California State University, Los Angeles