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USU is excited to announce this year's commencement speaker, Judge Rohanee Zapanta. Judge Zapanta was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown in December 2018. She is trained and certified in mental health first aid and restorative justice cognitive behavioral therapy. Prior to her appointment, she was an attorney for the San Diego Public Defender’s Office, specializing her practice in representing clients with serious mental illness and developmental conditions. She was also an instructor-facilitator of restorative justice courses at the San Diego South Bay Detention Facility. Judge Zapanta presided over adult criminal cases in 2019 and juvenile court cases through the pandemic years of 2020 through 2023. She now presides over mental health cases.

Judge Zapanta is the Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the California Judges Association Ethics and Wellness Workshops, addressing identity and core values for many first-generation lawyers and law students, children of immigrants. She is also Co-Editor of the The Bench, the official journal of the California Judges Association, serving one of the largest judicial associations in the United States. She sits on the Alumni Board of Directors for the ÈÎÄã²Ù¸£Àû of San Diego and serves on the Diversity Committee for the law school.

Judge Zapanta works closely with several legal and cultural organizations. She was selected as Juris of the Year in 2019 by the Filipino-American Business Improvement and Development Board. In 2023 Judge Zapanta was named as one of the Top Women of Influence in Law by the San Diego Business Journal. Judge Zapanta received the Pamana Legacy Award by Silayan Filipina at their 2023 Anniversary Gala. This past October, she was recognized as one of the Most Influential Filipina Women in the World for 2023 by the Filipina Women’s Network. This prestigious global recognition was presented to her in Prague, Czech Republic where she and a U.S. Presidential Commission Appointee on Asian & Pacific Islanders led a session on Race & Intersectionality at the global summit.

USU is excited to welcome its graduates in San Diego on 9/14 at noon at the San Diego Convention Center. For more information, please click here: /current-students/commencement-information.