Attorney Catherine E. Lhamon, the inaugural executive director of the Edley Center on Law & Democracy, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, will deliver the keynote address at Berkeley School of Education’s 2026 Commencement.
Lhamon has focused her career on civil rights and the public sector in California and at the federal level, including roles in the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
“I cannot think of a more powerful embodiment of our charge to ‘educate like democracy depends on it’ than Catherine’s career,” said BSE Dean Michelle D. Young. “From enforcing civil rights protections in our nation’s schools to advancing democratic resilience through law and policy, she has demonstrated how education and democracy are inextricably linked and how both require vigilance, courage, and public commitment.”
Before coming to UC Berkeley Law in 2025, she was the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, and managed President Biden’s equity policy portfolio as Deputy Assistant to the President for Racial Justice and Equity.
From December 2016 until January 2021, she chaired the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, to which President Obama appointed her.
She also served in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Cabinet as Legal Affairs Secretary from January 2019 through January 2021. Before these roles, Lhamon had also been Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education during President Obama’s Administration.
In addition to her government service, Lhamon litigated civil rights cases at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California; National Center for Youth Law; and Public Counsel Law Center. She also clerked for the Honorable William A. Norris on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
She earned her juris doctor from Yale Law School, and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College. Among the honors Lhamon has received are:
- Disability Rights California’s National Leadership Award in 2023
- Yale Women’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in 2019
- Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazine’s Wonder Women Award in 2018
- Politico 50 Thinkers Transforming Politics from Politico Magazine
- Action & Authority Award from the National Action Network
Editor's note: News media inquiries regarding BSE's commencement may be directed to BSE's Director of Communications Ashleigh Fryer, ashleighfryer@berkeley.edu.
Note for graduating students and their families: Information about location, tickets, parking and other details can be found on the webpage for Commencement 2026: Logistics.
Click on the image above to watch a recording of BSE’s Commencement.
"State-based civil rights enforcement to fill the federal vacuum," paper co-authored by Catherine E. Lhamon.
"Renowned Public Service Lawyer Catherine E. Lhamon to Lead Edley Center at UC Berkeley Law," Berkeley News.