California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to Give Graduation Keynote Address
Becerra, 61, was sworn in by Gov. Jerry Brown as California’s 33rd attorney general on January 24, 2017, succeeding Kamala Harris. Becerra previously served 12 terms in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. While in Congress, Becerra was the first Latino to serve as a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, served as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, and was ranking member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.
Born in Sacramento, California, to working-class parents, Becerra was the first in his family to receive a four-year college degree. He earned a B.A. in economics from Stanford University in 1980 and a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1984. Becerra’s mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father. He and his wife, Carolina Reyes, M.D., are the parents of three daughters: Clarisa, a member of Columbia Law’s Class of 2019, Olivia, and Natalia.
Other speakers include: Gillian Lester, Dean and the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law; 2019 Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching awardee Zohar Goshen; J.D. Class Speaker, Pablo E. Zevallos; LL.M. Class Speaker, Jonas Vernimmen, Student Senate President, Will Cobb.
The ceremony will begin at 5:00 p.m. EDT and can be viewed online.
For more information, contact the Public Affairs office: [email protected] or 212-854-1584.
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Published May 13, 2019