Park University’s Kansas City Area Commencement Set for May 4
April 16, 2024 — CiCi Rojas, co-founder of Kansas City, Mo., based Tico Productions and Tico Sports, will present the keynote address during Park University’s Kansas City Area Commencement on Saturday, May 4. The ceremony will be held at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Mo., starting at 10 a.m.
The event will include 687 Park University students eligible to participate in the ceremony — 242 students are set to receive a master’s degree and/or graduate certificate, and 445 students are scheduled to receive a bachelor’s degree, associate degree and/or undergraduate certificate.
Rojas, an accomplished C-suite executive turned entrepreneur, has built enterprises in for-profit environments, as well as for economic, political and social change. In 2017, after three decades of leading organizations dedicated to advancing key population growth segments, Rojas transferred her development skills to co-lead the two Tico entities which were established by Rojas and her husband in 2013. The enterprise is a full-service multimedia production and bilingual marketing company that developed a Spanish language broadcast and a community engagement platform for professional sports teams. Her first partnership was formed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016, and has produced broadcasts for several National Football League, Major League Soccer and collegiate sports teams.
Prior to Tico, Rojas served as president and chief executive officer for Central Exchange, a Kansas City organization whose vision is to advance women in meeting their full potential. She also held roles as the vice president of community engagement for Truman Medical Centers (now University Health) in Kansas City, and president/CEO of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Rojas is active in various civic organizations, including serving on the national board of directors for the YMCA of the USA and as treasurer and a member of the executive committee of the World YMCA. She has also served on the boards of USA Volleyball, Kansas City Ballet, Friends of the American Latino Museum, Guadalupe Centers, Stowers Institute for Medical Research and Arvest Bank.
Rojas has been recognized for her business and community achievements with a variety of awards, including the Missouri Lt. Governor’s Women of Achievement Award in 2024, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City’s Nuestra Latina Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, the Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation’s Woman of the Year in 2013 and the Kansas City Chiefs recipient of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award in 2011. In addition, Rojas was named to the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of Women Who Mean Business in 2022.