
Keynote Speaker: Pedro Noguera, Dean, USC Rossier School of Education
Pedro A. Noguera is the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education.
Noguera has strong ties to UC Berkeley, including earning his doctorate in Sociology in 1989. He has also held positions as an associate professor in the Berkeley School of Education; a lecturer the Department of Ethnic Studies, and the Department of Afro-American Studies; and special assistant to the Vice Chancellor-Business and Administrative Services.
Noguera’s research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions, as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts. He is the author, co-author and editor of 13 books. His most recent books are A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education, with Frederick M. Hess (Teachers College Press, 2021); The Crisis of Connection: Roots, Consequences and Solutions with Niobe Way, Carol Gilligan and Alisha Ali (New York University Press, 2018); and Race, Equity and Education: Sixty Years From Brown with Jill Pierce and Roey Ahram (Springer, 2015).
Prior to being appointed Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, Noguera served as a Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining the faculty at UCLA he served as a tenured professor and holder of endowed chairs at New York University (2004–2015), and Harvard University (2000–2003).
Read more about Noguera.
Listen to Noguera's commencement keynote address (17:31).

Student Speaker: Mónica Zegers, PhD
Mónica Zegers is a PhD candidate in the Human Development and Education program at the GSE. She was born and raised in Chile, where she earned a BA in Psychology and a professional degree in Clinical Psychology, both at Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile. She later worked for two years as a therapist for children with developmental and learning disabilities while completing a graduate diploma in Pediatric Neuropsychology. From 2014 to 2020, Monica worked as a researcher at the Institute of Human Development at UC Berkeley.
Read more about Zegers.

Student Speaker: Nick Easter, MA + Administrative Credential
Nick Easter is the principal at McKinley Elementary School in the San Leandro Unified School District. While learning and working toward restorative justice, race and equity, he became interested in school administration. He was previously an after school program director, classroom teacher, and a vice principal. He earned his MA plus administrative credential through Berkeley's Principal Leadership Program (PLI); his MA in secondary education and teaching from the University of Southern California; and his BA in African-American/Black Studies at San Jose State University.
Read more about Easter.

More Information
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Contact
Additional questions about commencement? Send an email to bsecommencement@berkeley.edu.