Leaders and scholars from the fields of health care, law, public service, and more will keynote the six Commencement ceremonies for the CSUDH community on May 16 and 17.
The 2025 CSUDH Commencement keynote speakers, by order of ceremony:
Alicia Miñana de Lovelace is the founding Chair of the Board of Directors for the Learning Rights Law Center, a nonprofit which helps low income families advocate for their children who have learning disabilities, and also helps children who are involved in foster care and in the juvenile system. She has spent 25 years as a practicing attorney and has worked with the National Labor Relations Board and with national law firms. She is a former president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of California and a member of the Cuban American Bar Association of Los Angeles, and also serves on the Board of Directors for Human Rights Watch.
Dr. Joe W. Ramos is President and CEO of the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (TLI), a leading nonprofit biomedical research organization in Los Angeles dedicated to advancing medical research and enhancing patient care. An expert on cancer signaling and metastasis, Dr. Ramos leads teams to conduct groundbreaking research, deliver exceptional clinical care, foster education, and engage with communities, all dedicated to addressing the unique needs of local populations.
Ron E. Yolo is Chief Nursing Officer, California Region, for Common Spirit Health/Dignity Health Hospitals. He oversees the delivery and practice of nursing care and operations across 29 acute care hospitals throughout California and leads a workforce of more than 18,000 nurses. He has partnered with his alma mater, CSUDH, to create a model for workforce redesign, development, and pipeline expansion to strengthen the bridge between academia and clinical practice.
Stephen Cheung is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and its subsidiary, the World Trade Center Los Angeles. He oversees a team that delivers the LAEDC’s public-benefit mission: reinventing our economy to collaboratively advance growth and prosperity for all.
Reynold Hoover is the CEO of LA28, the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Hoover has held various senior civilian roles in the U.S. federal government and leadership positions in the U.S. military as a three-star Lieutenant General. He has led the United States through complex logistics operations and was awarded the highest non-combat award in the Defense Department.
For more than four decades, Dr. Wade W. Nobles has studied classical African philosophy and traditional African wisdom traditions as the grounding for the development of an authentic Black psychology. He is a founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists and former national President (1994-95). He is Professor Emeritus of Africana Studies and Black Psychology at San Francisco State University and the Co-founder and past Executive Director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family Life and Culture, Inc.
More than 4,000 graduates will receive their degrees at CSUDH’s Commencement ceremonies, which will take place at Dignity Health Sports Park Tennis Stadium, adjacent to the university’s campus in Carson. More details can be found on the CSUDH Commencement website.
