ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ

The moment weÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™ve all been waiting for is finally here. WeÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™re proud to announce this yearÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Honorary Degree Recipients, speakers, and honoreesÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”an extraordinary group of leaders and changemakers who bring a wealth of experience, innovation, and inspiration to the Class of 2025.

Among them are the CEO of Etsy and longtime tech innovator, a Golden Globe-nominated actor and Pace alumnus, a nationally recognized nurse leader and Pace nursing graduate, and New York CityÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Fire Commissioner and Haub Law alumnus. These remarkable individuals will help us mark the occasion with wisdom, creativity, and heart as we celebrate our graduating students this May.

Image

Josh Silverman

Chief Executive Officer, Etsy

Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at the Main Ceremony

Josh Silverman is EtsyÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s chief executive officer, leading the company as it builds a platform that empowers creative entrepreneurs around the world. He is also a member of EtsyÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s board of directors.

JoshÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s two decades of leadership experience include growing consumer technology companies and scaling global marketplaces. He previously served as president of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, CEO of Skype, and CEO of Shopping.com, and he held various executive roles at eBay. Earlier in his career, Josh co-founded Evite, Inc., where he also served as the companyÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s CEO. He is currently on the board of directors of Shake Shack.

Josh was previously a member of the Stanford Business School Management Board and the Lincoln Center Theater board.

Lorelai Atalie Vargas

Image

Chief Community Impact Officer, Trinity Church Wall Street
Winner of the Opportunitas In Action Award

Lorelei Atalie Vargas has three decades of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors, creating community-level opportunities that strengthen the lives of children and families. She currently serves as chief community impact officer of Trinity Church, where she developed and leads a place-based initiative to address the well-being of communities in Lower Manhattan. This initiative combines targeted philanthropic investments with on-the-ground support to meet immediate needs and address root causes. She also sits on several boards, most recently joining the board of the Puerto Rican WomenÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s FoundationÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”the first and only womenÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s fund in Puerto RicoÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”supporting organizations that serve and advocate for women, girls, and the nonbinary community.

Prior to her current appointments, Lorelei served as deputy commissioner for child and family well-being with the City of New YorkÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Administration for ChildrenÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Services. There, she advocated for, designed, developed, and administered the countryÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s first child welfare division dedicated to using a two-generation approach to strengthen programs, leverage existing resources, and build on the assets inherent in families.

She also previously served as New York CityÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s deputy commissioner of early care and education, leading the countryÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s largest publicly funded, subsidized child care systemÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”serving nearly 110,000 children with an annual budget of over $1 billion. In this role, Lorelei successfully led reforms that expanded access to and improved the quality of care for low-income children.

Before entering city government, Lorelei spent more than a decade at a Westchester-based nonprofit, where she led the organizationÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s work to implement a trauma-informed organizational culture model across more than 300 child-serving organizations worldwide. Her career has included work in New York City government and nonprofit settings in New York, Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia, providing her with a rich understanding of the systems that support low-income and oppressed communities. She uses that knowledge to shape sustainable change for families, communities, policies, and systems.

Fully bilingual in English and Spanish, Lorelei earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College, where she currently serves on the board of trustees and on the board of advisors for Bryn MawrÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. She also holds two masterÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s degreesÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”one in public policy and one in education administration and policyÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

Lorelei was named a Pahara Fellow (2017) for her work on equity in early childhood education and an Ascend Fellow (2018) for her leadership in developing two-generation systems from the Aspen Institute, where she is a member of the Aspen Global Network. In 2020, she was named to City & State New YorkÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Responsible 100 list for her thought leadership in creating transformational social change during the pandemic. In 2024, she received the Partnership for Afterschool EducationÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Afterschool Champion Award for her career-long commitment to advancing educational opportunities for youth.

Cooper Koch ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™18

Image

Actor

Speaker at the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Sands College of Performing Arts, and School of Education Undergraduate Ceremony

Cooper Koch is an American actor who received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Erik Menendez in the biographical crime drama series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. He has also appeared in the slasher film They/Them and the body horror film Swallowed. Cooper graduated from Pace School of Performing Arts with a BFA in acting in May 2018.

Launette Woolforde, EdD ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™93

Image

Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Northwell Health

Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at the Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems Undergraduate Ceremony

Dr. Launette Woolforde is the deputy chief nursing officer for Northwell Health and assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

With 88,000 employees, including 19,000 nurses, Northwell Health is the largest employer and largest health system in New York State. Dr. Woolforde developed its system-wide nurse residency program, which is accredited with distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She established the health systemÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s infrastructure that enabled growth from three Magnet hospitals to elevenÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”the most of any health system in New York.

Dr. Woolforde began her 32-year nursing career as a student at ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Lienhard School of Nursing. She earned a masterÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s degree from Hunter College and a post-masterÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s certificate from the College of New Rochelle. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University as well as a Doctor of Education from Columbia UniversityÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Teachers CollegeÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”pursuing both degrees simultaneously and becoming the first nurse at Northwell to earn two doctoral degrees.

Dr. Woolforde has served as an executive board member at the National League for Nursing, the countryÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s oldest nursing organization, and on the board of the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD). For her many contributions to the profession, she received the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society for Nursing International Founders Award, was named the American Nurses Credentialing CenterÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s National Certified Nurse of the Year, and was inducted into Columbia University Teachers College Alumni Hall of Fame. She holds two board certifications and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the Health Management Academy, and the esteemed American Academy of Nursing.

Robert Tucker ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™96

Image

New York City Fire Commissioner

Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law Ceremony

Robert S. Tucker is the 35th New York City fire commissioner. A lifelong New Yorker, Commissioner Tucker grew up in Manhattan and attended George Washington University. He went to law school at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ at night while working as the special assistant to the late Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. The experience allowed him to work closely with an extensive network of executive-level members of the New York City Police Department and the city administration, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, and other public safety entities.

In 1999, he founded T&M USA, an international security and investigations firm. During his time at T&M, he was also devoted to philanthropic work. This included service as a trustee of the New York City Police Foundation and on the board of directors of White Plains Hospital, ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ, and the FDNY Foundation.

As a 1996 graduate of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ, Commissioner Tucker has a deep connection to his alma mater and served on ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s Board of Trustees from 2018 until 2024. In 2017, through his generous support, Haub Law established the Robert S. Tucker Prize for Prosecutorial Excellence to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to criminal prosecution and exemplify excellence in prosecutorial practice.

Commissioner Tucker prides himself on being a son of the city and the father of three childrenÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ”two daughters and a son. He is the grandson of the late Richard Tucker, an American operatic tenor and cantor long associated with the Metropolitan Opera.

Serving as the FDNY commissioner is the realization of Commissioner TuckerÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s lifelong dream.

Stay tuned to the Commencement website for more information about speakers and nominees, important information about deadlines (application to graduate, ticket ordering, and caps and gowns), the full schedule of events for May 19 and 20, and more. CanÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™t wait to see you on your big day!