UCLA College Commencement 2024 Alumni Speakers
Alumni Speakers
All across campus in June, our community — faculty, staff, distinguished alumni, family and friends — comes together to celebrate commencement.
Below, meet our alumni and UCLA College faculty speakers.
Congratulations to the entire Bruin family!
James Atoa
UCLA College Commencement
Sean Astin ’97
Actor, advocate and UCLA College alumnus Sean Astin will deliver the keynote address at all three 2024 UCLA College commencement ceremonies. He transferred to UCLA from Los Angeles Valley College and graduated with honors in 1997, earning degrees in American literature and history. In addition to his acting career, Astin is a vocal advocate and volunteer for issues including climate activism, literacy, mental health awareness and civic engagement.
Academic Advancement Program
Shannon Speed, director, UCLA American Indian Studies Center and Paula Gunn Allen Chair in Gender Studies
“UCLA provides students with a richly diverse learning environment in which many direct their knowledge and talents to creating a better, more socially just world.”
Shannon Speed is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. She is currently the Director of the American Indian Studies Center and Associate Professor in Gender Studies and Anthropology. Speed has worked for the last two decades in Mexico, and her research and teaching interests include indigenous politics, legal anthropology, human rights, neoliberalism, gender, indigenous migration and activist research. She has published five books and edited volumes, including “Rights in Rebellion: Human Rights and Indigenous Struggle in Chiapas,” “Human Rights in the Maya Region: Global Politics, Moral Engagements, and Cultural Contentions,” and “Dissident Women: Gender and Cultural Politics in Chiapas.” Speed has published numerous journal articles and book chapters in English and Spanish, as well as two books in Spanish.
Her current research is on indigenous Latin American women migrants and gender violence, and her book in progress is entitled, “States of Violence: Indigenous Women Migrants and Human Rights in the Era of Neoliberal Multicriminalism.” She serves on the Council of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) and as co-chair of the Otros Saberes/Other Knowledges section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). In 2013, Speed was awarded the Chickasaw Dynamic Woman of the Year Award by the Chickasaw Nation and in 2014 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar of Texas Indian Law Section.
Department of Anthropology
Stephen DeBerry ’95
“UCLA is where I built my foundation as an adult human being. I learned how to think here. I met my wife here. I had two of the most painful and triumphant moments of my life here. UCLA has meant everything to me.”
Stephen DeBerry is founder and general partner of BRONZE, a leading U.S. venture capital firm focused on profitably moving disparity to prosperity. The firm manages capital for leading consultants, universities, foundations, corporations and ultra-high-net-worth investors. Stephen earned a B.A. in anthropology with College honors and highest departmental honors from UCLA, and graduate degrees in anthropology and business from Oxford. He is a former USA national track and field champion (400 meter hurdles) who competed for the Bruins. He was also a member of the first African-American mountaineering team to ascend Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The film “An American Ascent” (Amazon Prime) chronicles that expedition. His seminal talk on Eastside communities has been translated into 21 languages and viewed more than 1.7 million times. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Both Ebony magazine and The Root/Washington Post have called him one of the 100 most powerful African-Americans in the United States.
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Geoffrey Knight ’84
“As a son, husband and father of UCLA alums, the university has always been part of my life. From basketball games and Royce Hall events as a child, through my own years on campus, to watching my daughter deliver the student speech for her department on graduation day, I couldn’t be prouder of my lifelong connection to the Bruin family!”
Geoff Knight is a career environmental consultant who has assisted a wide variety of clients meet the challenge of growing their businesses while addressing the ever-increasing environmental expectations from government regulators and each client’s own stakeholders. He is an expert in complex waste, water, air and spill-related regulations and has completed hundreds of assessment, permitting and compliance tasks at major industrial and governmental facilities.
Geoff has lived and worked across the U.S. and managed projects internationally throughout North and South America, Europe and the Far East. California remains home for Geoff and he is now focused on helping clients navigate compliance with California’s leading-edge environmental requirements, from chemical and waste minimization to climate change. Geoff is a principal scientist at Yorke Engineering LLC, an Orange County-based environmental science and engineering firm where he divides his time between client work and teaching environmental permitting and compliance to the next generation of environmental advisors.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Julia L. Sabin ’83
“My UCLA experience not only became the foundation on which I built my career, but it embedded in me the tools I needed to construct and adapt to an ever-changing world. When I graduated, I had no idea what path I would embark on — but the confidence I gained at UCLA gave me the courage to act on my dreams.”
Julia Sabin has spent her entire career with The J.M. Smucker Company, holding leadership roles of increasing responsibility across the business, including supporting operations, sustainability and government relations, which she currently oversees.
In her current role, Sabin directs the company’s efforts to positively impact its industry and communities through governmental engagement and advocacy.
Along with her functional leadership, Sabin is passionate about supporting the company’s sustainability journey to ensure a responsible approach across operations and its value chain. Additionally, she is committed to playing an active role in driving the company’s dedication to realizing its vision to cultivate an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects its consumers and its communities. This work includes providing leadership opportunities to the GROW (Greater Resources and Opportunities for Women) employee resource group.
In addition to her work at The J.M. Smucker Company, Sabin has provided leadership across the industry, including serving as chairwoman for the American Frozen Food Institute, the Organic Trade Association and the Chico Chamber of Commerce. After being appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, she also served on the USDA National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board. While living in Ohio, Sabin supported her local community as a board member for the Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron and In Council with Women in Cleveland.
Sabin currently serves on the Agriculture Technical Advisory Committees for Trade within the Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA, having been appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
She resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Darryl Stephens.
Department of Communication
Mark Itkin ’75
“Growing up in L.A., I always saw UCLA as the true magic kingdom. My dad was a student there when I was a kid and we cherished UCLA sports. My dream to attend UCLA came true — I was fortunate to be admitted to the new major of communication studies, which well prepared me for my very successful career as a television packaging agent and television producer.”
Mark Itkin graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA and followed it with a J.D. from Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley. He was an associate in the music department of the law firm of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, and joined the William Morris Agency in 1982, becoming a television packaging agent specializing in first-run syndication, pay and basic cable television. Itkin has packaged such varied television series as “The Real World,” “Project Runway,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Kitchen Nightmares,” “Deal or No Deal,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns,” “Big Brother,” “Fear Factor,” “People’s Court,” “The Ricki Lake Show,” “American Gladiators,” “Biggest Loser” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Until he retired in December 2015, he was co-head of television at and a member of the board of directors of William Morris Endeavor. Currently, he is a corporate board of director member, consultant and an entrepreneur in the media business.
In 2016, Itkin founded Tough Lamb Media, Inc., a production company specializing in television and film. Tough Lamb Media, Inc. produced “The Tent Mender” docuseries for Amazon and the game show “College Bowl” for NBC. Currently in production is “America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation,” a cooking competition series for Amazon/Freevee, a game show pilot for ABC titled “Nation’s Brightest” and a feature film with producer Mark Platt for A24.
Itkin has been a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for 30 years, a two-term governor and spent six years on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences executive committee. In addition, he chaired the Blue Ribbon Panel Committee which successfully instituted “at-home” viewing of the prime-time Emmy awards and was the Chairman of the ATAS Hall of Fame Committee for four years. Itkin was also the first agent appointed to the National Association of Television Programming Executives’ Executive Board. He is currently on the board of governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital, the board of directors of the Zimmer Children’s Museum and the board of directors for The National AIDS Monument. Itkin has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School and is a member of the Dean of Social Sciences Advisory Board at UCLA.
Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences
Jennifer Scully Ph.D ’15
“UCLA, my home department in particular, provided me with much-needed academic and personal roots when I moved to Los Angeles, knowing nobody, from Ireland. Like any good foundation, my UCLA roots have given me a wonderful base from which to grow and evolve, even long after I have graduated.”
Jennifer Scully is a planetary geologist who works at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Graduating in 2015, Scully earned a Ph.D. in geology from the department of earth, planetary, and space sciences. She specializes in geologic mapping and geomorphic investigation of small, icy celestial bodies, in particular Ceres, Vesta and Europa. She was a collaborator on NASA’s Dawn mission to Vesta and Ceres since the start of her Ph.D. and, more recently, has joined NASA’s Europa Clipper mission as an affiliate. She is also involved in the formulation of new planetary science missions to ocean worlds and small bodies. In particular, she works on reconnaissance and landing site selection for Ceres and Europa. Born and raised in Ireland, Scully moved to the United States in 2010 to attend graduate school at UCLA.
Department of English
Stephanie Ellis-Smith ’93
“It is no exaggeration to say that UCLA changed my life. Beyond actual coursework, my undergraduate years taught me how to learn — anything! That skill has served me well as my career and trajectory in life are testaments to the depth and breadth of the education I received.”
Stephanie Ellis-Smith is the CEO and founder of Phīla Engaged Giving, a philanthropic advisory firm founded in 2017 that works with donors who are ready to activate their assets for social change. As an advisor and social impact specialist, she works toward a world where philanthropy is a nurturing and equity-centered practice that connects wealth to the people and communities who need it most.
Ellis-Smith is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy and has extensive experience in advising high-impact individuals and companies. She believes strongly in being a compassionate and generous member of society and brings nearly 30 years of her professional and personal life experience in governance, family wealth and nonprofit leadership to the social sector.
In the wake of the racial uprisings of 2020, she co-founded Giving Gap, an online database of Black-founded and led organizations as a means to help donors find and support them in their communities. Having served in a variety of professional capacities — nonprofit CEO, social enterprise COO, foundation and nonprofit trustee, and corporate board member — her diverse experience and deep knowledge makes her uniquely well-positioned to be a trusted advisor to the world’s most generous families and institutions.
Ellis-Smith’s expertise in navigating wealth, impactful generosity and civic engagement is frequently sought by leading philanthropic institutions and mainstream publications and as a keynote speaker of major social sector convenings. She has been appointed by multiple Seattle mayors and former Washington Governor Gary Locke to serve on a variety of boards and public commissions. She currently serves on the Seattle Art Museum’s Museum Development Authority Board and is on the board of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. She was appointed a dean of philanthropy in 2022 by The Purposeful Planning Institute.
She has two children and lives in Seattle with her husband and fellow UCLA alum Douglas Smith Ph.D. ’96.
Department of Linguistics
Karen Emmorey ’82, M.A. ’86, Ph.D. ’87
“I look back on my time as a UCLA student with great fondness. I was supported by wonderful female mentors — in particular, the late Victoria Fromkin — and my interdisciplinary interests in psychology and neuroscience were supported and encouraged by my home department of linguistics.”
At San Diego State University, Karen Emmorey is a distinguished professor in the School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and the director of the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience. Her research focuses on what sign languages can reveal about the nature of human language, cognition and the brain. She studies the processes involved in how deaf and hearing people produce and comprehend sign language and how these processes are represented in the brain. Her research interests also include bimodal bilingualism (i.e., sign-speech bilingualism) and the neurocognitive underpinnings of reading skill in profoundly deaf adults.
Department of Mathematics
Brian D. Lakamp ’93
“UCLA provided an incredible educational and social springboard that produced the critical thinking skills and confidence that helped me build a meaningful, fulfilling life and career. I look back on my time at UCLA and marvel at the role that the experience had in shaping who I am today. Once a Bruin, always a Bruin!”
Brian Lakamp’s career spans business and technology operations, financial and business modeling, product development, strategy, and management. At Paramount Global, Lakamp is responsible for the development and operation of Paramount’s media supply chain. Lakamp manages a team of over 800 people that prepare, localize, package and deliver CBS, Showtime, Paramount, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and P+ original content to Paramount+, Pluto, Prime Video, Apple, Netflix and hundreds of additional distribution partners worldwide.
Lakamp brings extensive experience building innovative media platforms from his previous roles. At iHeartMedia, Lakamp served as president of digital, where he launched and managed iHeartRadio, the industry-leading streaming music and digital radio service. Under Lakamp’s leadership, iHeartRadio registered over 65 million users faster than any previous music service.
In 2007, Lakamp co-founded Fluxe, a digital startup focused on cloud-based media. Before Fluxe, Brian developed and deployed MovieLink, one of Hollywood’s first internet movie services.
Department of Sociology
Vera Moore-Shaheen ’05
“UCLA is an academically talented yet grounded community of scholars bonded by a shared commitment to continuous learning, growth, evolution and emotional vulnerability. It’s a place where you have an open invitation to join meaningful conversations because others are interested in your perspectives. We add value to the places and spaces we occupy! Bruins are not only prepared to compete, but also prepared to win. As such, we are calculated risk-takers and embrace opportunities to break down barriers while modeling respectful discourse. UCLA sets the standard.”
With nearly 20 years of experience leading strategic initiatives that drive business and improve prosperity for all, Vera Moore-Shaheen has dedicated her career to connecting low-income communities and communities of color to quality jobs, business growth opportunities and more economically secure futures.
Moore-Shaheen is the west regional executive for U.S. community relations at Citi. She brings an equity-focused lens to how the voices and perspectives of nonprofit leaders and the communities they serve are reflected through Citi’s work to help close the racial wealth gap. Her team manages relationships with key stakeholders, increases access to safe and affordable financial products, and facilitates employee engagement in the community. Prior to Citi, Moore-Shaheen helped spearhead JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s commitment to invest $75 million in the Bay Area through its AdvancingCities initiative — a five-year, $500 million effort to create greater economic opportunity nationwide.
Moore-Shaheen’s career in economic development and wealth creation began in the nonprofit sector. She has held leadership roles at national nonprofit organizations such as the National Urban League, where she brought evidence-based restorative justice principles and innovation to employment training programs for young adults with prior justice system involvement. With Seedco, Moore-Shaheen provided consulting services to government agencies and philanthropic organizations in the U.S. and abroad that wanted to increase their grantees’ capacity to implement high-impact workforce development programs.
A UCLA College alumna, Moore-Shaheen earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the division of social sciences and went on to earn a master’s degree in urban planning from New York University and serve as a community planning fellow with the Office of the Manhattan Borough President. While at UCLA, she was an active member of the Academic Advancement Program (AAP), Student Transfer Outreach Mentor Program (STOMP), Afrikan Arts Ensemble, Law Fellows Program and UCLA’s first Greek life organization, the Pi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Moore-Shaheen transferred to UCLA from Diablo Valley College.
Currently, Moore-Shaheen serves on the Coro Northern California Board of Directors and the leadership council at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. She is also an appointed member of the Entrepreneurship and Economic Mobility Task Force formed by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, a division of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Moreover, Moore-Shaheen was recognized on the San Francisco Business Times “40 Under 40” List in 2021. A heart-centered leader, Moore-Shaheen has been named “Community Reinvestment Visionary of the Year” by ASIAN, Inc. and a “Powerful Woman of the Bay Area” by Black Women Organized for Political Action and the Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment. She was also recognized as a corporate leader by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. Oakland Bay Area Chapter. and the National Urban League.
A native of Pittsburg, California, Moore-Shaheen resides in the Bay Area with her husband, Charlie, and their two dogs, Opie and Rosie.
Department of Statistics and Data Science
Eric B. Laber ’05
“UCLA is where I found my people: science-obsessed, endlessly curious and driven students. These are exactly the types of students I now try to recruit into my lab.”
Eric B. Laber graduated from UCLA in 2005, earning a B.S. in mathematics with a specialization in computing and in 2011, he earned his Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Michigan. At Duke University, Laber is a professor of statistical science and biostatistics and bioinformatics and is a James B. Duke Distinguished Professor. His work focuses on data-driven decision-making with applications in precision medicine, public health, sports and retail. He is the recipient of the Noether Award, the Raymond J. Carroll Award and the NSF CAREER award. Laber is also passionate about K–12 STEM outreach.
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Rita Kampalath M.S. ’06, Ph.D. ’10
“My time at UCLA taught me a few things. First, that I wanted to continue to be challenged intellectually — to find opportunities to continue to learn, grow and stretch my understanding. Second, it really taught me how important it was to me to spend my time working toward a purpose and mission.”
Rita Kampalath joined the County of Los Angeles’s chief sustainability office in June 2017 as a sustainability program director and was appointed chief sustainability officer in August 2023. As the CSO, she leads a team of policy experts focused on implementation of the county’s sustainability plan, in addition to providing policy support for other county sustainability-related initiatives. Prior to joining the county, Kampalath was the science and policy director of the nonprofit Heal the Bay, where she oversaw advocacy and research projects related to water quality and water resources. Before joining Heal the Bay, she worked for Geosyntec Consultants on a range of water quality projects, primarily focusing on stormwater. Kampalath received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Columbia University and at UCLA, she earned an M.S. in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. in civil/environmental engineering.
