2024 Commencement Speaker Announced
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.