Once again, it’s time to bid adieu to
Westchester’s thousands of college students.
Our more than 20 post-secondary schools have
spent months weighing their options for
commencement speakers. Here, we profile
a few already on the books.
Berkeley College, White Plains Campus
Speaker: Nina Vaca
Bio: As chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Technical Resources, Vaca has led the corporation to become the fifth fastest growing IT firm nationally. Her family’s first college graduate, Vaca has been featured in Fast Company Magazine’s “Top 25 Women Business Builders.”
College of New Rochelle
Speaker: Anne Sweeney ‘79
Bio: College of New Rochelle alumna Sweeney serves as co-chair of Disney Media Networks and as president of Disney/ABC Television Group, overseeing ABC Studios, Disney Channel, SOAPnet, and more. Sweeney has ranked in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment,” Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business,” and Forbes’ “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women”.
Iona College
Speaker: Lt. Andrew Kinard
Bio: Kinard, a veteran and war hero who has undergone more than 70 surgeries since he was injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Iraq, is now completing a dual degree at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He’s received the Purple Heart, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and serves on the board of directors of Wounded Warrior Project.
Manhattanville College
Speaker: Dina Temple-Raston
Bio: Temple-Raston currently ranks as National Public Radio’s top counterterrorism analyst. Before joining NPR, she worked as a White House correspondent for Bloomberg and opened the company’s Shanghai and Hong Kong bureaus. Her book, A Death in Texas, made the Washington Post‘s “Best Books of 2002” list.
New York Medical College
Speaker: Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, MA
Bio: Dr. Troutman is president of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and director of Public Health Leadership and Practice at the University of South Florida. As a voice to the nation’s leading and oldest public health organization, Troutman has become spokesperson for African American health concerns and inequalities.
Purchase College
Speaker: Eric Foner
Bio: Foner is one of the most prolific Civil War historians and was named Scholar of the Year by The New York Council for the Humanities. His Pulitzer Prize-winning textbook, Give Me Liberty: An American History, remains a staple in high school classrooms and has been published in six different languages.
Sarah Lawrence College
Speaker: Vera Wang ‘71
Bio: Now a noted clothing designer, Wang entered Sarah Lawrence as a pre-med championship figure skater. She went on to serve as a Vogue editor and design director for Ralph Lauren, and is now a household name in the fashion world.
Westchester Community College
Speaker: Joseph Hankin.
Bio: As president of WCC, Hankin has bid farewell to more than 40 graduating classes since he assumed the post in 1971. Before coming to the County, he taught at the City University of New York and Columbia University and served as vice-chairman of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. In 1986, Dr. Hankin was named one of The Hundred Most Effective College Presidents in the United States.
