Dominican Celebrates Fall 2023 Graduates with Two Ceremonies

Dominican University of California will celebrate students graduating this month with separate undergraduate and graduate Fall 2023 Commencement ceremonies on December 9 in Angelico Concert Hall. The undergraduate ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. The graduate ceremony will begin at 1 p.m.
 
Maria Echaveste, JD, will deliver the Commencement address at the undergraduate ceremony. Dominican Board Chair Carolyn Klebanoff, MD, will address the graduate students and their guests. 
 
Maria Echaveste is President and CEO of the Opportunity Institute, which advances social mobility and racial equity by championing efforts that support the holistic development of all young people. An attorney, community leader, and academic, Echaveste served as Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Chief of Staff for President Clinton. Before working in the White House, Echaveste served as Administrator of the Wage/Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.  After leaving government service, Echaveste co-founded a strategic and policy consulting group. Her work with UC Berkeley, where she earned her JD, has been extensive, lecturing in the School of Law, teaching undergraduates, leading program and policy efforts, and serving as a Senior Fellow in the Center for Latin American Studies.
 
Dr. Klebanoff has alongside her accomplished career in internal medicine engaged deeply with the non-profit sector, particularly in areas advancing health and education equity. Dr. Klebanoff is a co-founder of Sweetwater Spectrum, located in Sonoma, an innovative, supported living community for adults with autism. Dr. Klebanoff joined Dominican’s Board in 2016, energized by the University’s mission and compelled by the diversity and extraordinary outcomes of Dominican’s students. Now in her third term (and second as Chair), she has cultivated with her Trustee colleagues a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to focus its leadership. Dr. Klebanoff holds a BS from Yale University and an MD from UCSF. She also serves on the Board of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
For more information, please visit the Commencement website on Dominican.edu.