COMMENCEMENT
School of Public Policy
Friday, April Seventeenth, Two Thousand Twenty-Six Ten Thirty in the Morning Malibu, California
Marshal
Processional
JAMES E. PRIEGER
Professor of Public Policy
Pomp and Circumstance (Elgar)
Invocation and CHARLOTTE FLORANCE DAY
Pledge of Allegiance
National Anthem
Presiding
Student Address
Presentation of Distinguished
Former US Department of State Official Founder, Siku Style
ANNA SPIVEY Class of 2025, Seaver College Current Student
JAY L. BREWSTER
Provost
AIDAN M. KOHNKE Class of 2026
PETE N. PETERSON Alumnus Award Dean, Braun Family Dean’s Chair Senior Fellow, Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership Class of 2007
DANIEL E. KLEIN
Chief Executive Officer of Jewish Silicon Valley Class of 2012
Presentation of Commencement
PETE N. PETERSON Speaker
Commencement Address
CLARENCE H. CARTER
Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Human Services
Presentation of Candidates
PETE N. PETERSON for Graduate Degrees
Conferring of Degrees
JAMES A. GASH
President Class of 1993, Caruso School of Law
Benediction LEE E. OHANIAN 2025–26 Giles-O’Malley Visiting Professor
The audience will rise for the benediction and be seated during the recessional.
Recessional Green Hills and When the Battle’s Over (Scottish Standards)
The School of Public Policy Alumni Office and Pepperdine University Alumni Association invite you to a reception following the commencement ceremony on Alumni Park.
DANIEL E. KLEIN
Daniel E. Klein is the chief executive officer of Jewish Silicon Valley (JSV), a nonprofit dedicated to connecting, supporting, and advocating for the Jewish community across the region. After joining JSV in 2023 as chief philanthropy officer, he was appointed chief executive officer later that year. Inspired by the resilience of his grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors, Mr. Klein has dedicated more than a decade to mission-driven leadership. He currently serves on the Community Advisory Council of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the nation’s largest community foundation, guiding its strategic and civic engagement.
Mr. Klein’s career spans the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, including six years in the biomedical industry and leadership roles with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Israel Bonds. As executive director of Israel Bonds for the Pacific Northwest, he championed landmark policy allowing California to invest in Israel Bonds to benefit state taxpayers. A vocal advocate, Mr. Klein recently helped draft and pass Assembly Bill 715, which strengthens protections against antisemitism in California’s public schools. His efforts included testifying in Sacramento and authoring a pivotal op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News prior to the bill being signed into law on October 7, 2025.
While earning his master of public policy at Pepperdine, Mr. Klein focused on state and local policy and economics, served as a faculty research assistant, and interned in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. He also successfully managed a local school board race during his studies.
Daniel Klein earned a BA in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2004 and an MPP from the Pepperdine School of Public Policy in 2012.
CLARENCE H. CARTER
Clarence H. Carter has served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services within governor Bill Lee’s cabinet since 2021. As a leader of the state’s second-largest governmental agency, he oversees nearly 4,000 employees across 95 counties and manages a budget of more than $3 billion. Through his leadership, Mr. Carter helps maintain nearly 20 programs that focus on bettering the wellness of Tennessee residents, including state-run efforts devoted to nutrition, employment and vocation, and protective services.
Mr. Carter has demonstrated a commitment to the health and safety of citizens around the country throughout his career. Prior to his current role at the Tennessee Department of Human Services, he worked at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, as director of the Office of Family Assistance and acting director of the Office of Community Services. He also served under former Arizona governor Jan Brewer as director of the state’s Department of Economic Security and in Virginia he was commissioner of the Department of Social Services. In 2015 Mr. Carter founded the Phoenix-based Institute for the Improvement of the Human Condition, where he partnered with local and state agencies to tend to emergency needs of the region’s most vulnerable members.
Mr. Carter serves on Tennessee’s Coordinating Task Force and chairs the state’s Families First Community Advisory Board and its Child Care Task Force. Last year he published Our Net Has Holes in It: A Critique of the American Safety Net and a Vision for Transforming It. In 2022 Mr. Carter received the Spirit of Fatherhood Judge David Gray Ross Award from the National Partnership for Community Leadership, and he was the recent recipient of the Public Service Innovation Award from the United Way of Tennessee.
Clarence Carter earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES AWARDED BY THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY Master of Public Policy
DREW AGUAS
International Relations and National Security
MARVIN AREVALO
American Policy and Politics
International Relations and National Security
ALESSANDRO ALFONSO BASTIEN
Applied Economic Policy
RUSSELL BIVINS
Public Policy and Dispute Resolution
JORDAN CHRISTOPHER BUENAFE
Applied Economic Policy
International Relations and National Security
KAMILA MARIONA CAMPOS
State and Local Policy
CHRISTOPHER P. CARROLL
International Relations and National Security
EMILY NICOLE DANIELS
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
DESIREE DE ANDA
International Relations and National Security
Public Policy and Dispute Resolution
LAMONTRIA A. EDWARDS
Applied Economic Policy
Joint MPP/MDR
ISABEL CAROLINE FLATLEY
American Policy and Politics
VALERIA
ORNELLA GABRIELLI MORALES
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
JESSICA GONZALEZ
International Relations and National Security
State and Local Policy
WYATT JOHN GRECO
International Relations and National Security
MENGYAO HAO
Applied Economic Policy
BERNETTA JANAY HENDERSON
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
ADELAIDE DYER HORGAN
American Policy and Politics
AIDAN MICHAEL KOHNKE
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
JOSHUA LEE
American Policy and Politics
International Relations and National Security
LOGAN BRYAN LEE
American Policy and Politics
International Relations and National Security
KEVIN LIU
American Policy and Politics
Applied Economic Policy
JORGE MACIAS
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
JOSEPH MANACMUL
State and Local Policy
LESTIAN LEQUAN MCNEAL
International Relations and National Security
STEPHANIE MENDOZA HERNANDEZ
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
FRANCISCO R. MORAN III
Applied Economic Policy
Public Policy and Dispute Resolution
LIAM MURPHY
International Relations and National Security
JOY KEMUNTO GESARE OMOSA
International Relations and National Security
MICHELLE FERNANDA REYNOSO
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
VANESSA MARIE RICE
International Relations and National Security
Public Policy and Dispute Resolution
JOHN WESTON SCOGGINS
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
JONATHAN ADAM TEJEDA
American Policy and Politics
State and Local Policy
RUDY ANTHONY TORRES JR.
American Policy and Politics
International Relations and National Security
EVE MARIE VELASQUEZ
Applied Economic Policy
International Relations and National Security
MCCALL KATHARINE ZEUTZIUS
Public Policy and Dispute Resolution
State and Local Policy
DIEGO ALEJANDRO ZULUAGA ZULUAGA
International Relations and National Security
This is not an official graduation list.
Accessible Seating
