Gevirtz School alumna Dr. Nicolasa Sandoval (PhD ’07) will address life-long Gauchos as the 2019 UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division Commencement Keynote speaker on Friday, June 14 at 1:00 pm on the Commencement Green.
Dr. Sandoval earned her Ph.D. from the UC Santa Barbara Department of Education in 2007 following seven years working at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., becoming the first person affiliated with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to earn a doctoral degree. She now serves as Education Director for the organization. Dr. Sandoval has also been appointed not once, but twice by former California Governor Jerry Brown to the State Board of Education and continues to be active in promoting educational opportunities for Native American students. Sandoval is also a lecturer in the Gervitz School, and recently completed her term as an elected member of the UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors.
2019 will be the third year in a row that the Graduate Division Commencement Ceremony keynote will be delivered by a Gevirtz School Alum. Dr. Sandoval succeeds 2018 speaker, Executive Director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, Dr. Stephanie Couch and 2017 speaker, Former U.S. Representative for California’s 24th District, Lois Capps.
To learn more about Dr. Sandoval, read our latest interview where she shared her problem solving and active listening approach to leadership, and see the Profile of Success video created about her by UCSB’s Graduate Division.
“UCSB has been a home, school, and community for some of the most extraordinary thinkers and change-makers in the world,” said Sandoval. “It is my responsibility and my pleasure to contribute to our UCSB community. If one person connects to one element of my story, I will be grateful.”
View the Commencement 2019 schedule here.