UCSB is honored to welcome this year's commencement speakers:

• Sunday, June 10, at 11 a.m.
  College of Creative Studies
  Marlene Zuk
  Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Equity and Diversity, University of California, Riverside
  Professor, Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside
  CCS Biology Graduate, UCSB Class of 1977
   
• Friday, June 15, at 10 a.m.
  Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
  Jerome Ringo
  Former Chairman of the Board, National Wildlife Federation
   
• Saturday, June 16, at 9 a.m.
  Science and Mathematics
  Dawn Wright
  Professor Geosciences Oregon State University
  Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology, UCSB Class of 1994
   
• Saturday, June 16, at 1 p.m.
  Engineering and Science
  Adam Savage
  Mythbusters
   
• Saturday, June 16, at 4 p.m.
  Social Sciences I
  Luis G. Nogales
  Nogales Investors, Managing Partner
   
• Sunday, June 17, at 9 a.m.
  Social Sciences II
  Natalia Kanem
  President of The ELMA Philanthropies Services
   
• Sunday, June 17, at 1 p.m.
  Humanities and Fine Arts
  Chris Abani
  Award Winning Poet and Novelist
  Professor of Creative Writing, University of California, Riverside
   
• Sunday, June 17, at 4 p.m.
  Graduate Division
  Fredric E. Steck
  Trustee, The UCSB Foundation
  History Graduate, UCSB Class of 1967
   

Marlene Zuk

Marlene Zuk was a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara College of Creative Studies from 1973-1977. While attending UCSB, she worked with Adrian Wenner and Ian Ross, now retired, as well as many other faculty. She took writing classes, including one from Barry Farrell, who taught at UCSB for several years and brought in a number of interesting and influential people including Joan Didion. After graduating Marlene stayed in Santa Barbara for three years, working at a variety of jobs on and off-campus, and then went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for graduate school. She received her Ph.D. in 1986, did postdoctoral work at the University of New Mexico, and is now a professor of biology at UC Riverside. She has maintained an interest in writing for the general public and has two books out; the first is called Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn About Sex From Animals. The second was just released, and is titled Riddled With Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are. She informs people it's a happy book about disease. Marlene has also been active in promoting the advancement of women in science.

Jerome Ringo

Jerome Ringo recently completed his two-year term as chairman of the board of the National Wildlife Federation, a historic tenure that began in April 2005 and made him the first African-American to lead the board of any major conservation organization. During his time at NWF, Ringo was named "the most interesting environmental leader in the United States" by The Nation magazine, and was among Ebony magazine's "most influential African-Americans."

He is a leading conservation spokesman on a variety of issues, including global warming, the need for national water policies and projects to serve the public interest, the importance of restoring degraded wetlands of coastal Louisiana and other habitats, and the desirability of keeping the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge free of oil development. In December 2005, he was named president of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition comprising business, labor, faith and conservation groups, as well as farmers and others united to forge a new energy future that will both create jobs and reduce America's dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil.

In 1998, Ringo was the sole African-American delegate at the Global Warming Treaty negotiations in Kyoto, Japan.

Ringo's connection to the natural world goes back to his boyhood in Louisiana's bayou country, where he fished, crabbed, and hunted for duck, goose, and deer. His roles as hunter, fisherman, and conservationist from an area where many people secure at least some of their food by hunting and fishing make him a particularly powerful advocate for environmental sustainability.

He is a dedicated teacher and sharer of information, a lifelong pursuit that began when he was 16 and served as one of the first-ever African-American staff members at the Philmont Scout Ranch, the world's largest scouting ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Teaching younger scouts and helping them connect to the natural world furthered his appreciation and respect for nature, and his understanding of the need to protect the nation's precious natural resources for future generations.

Today, he maintains a deep connection to Louisiana and the people who live there. He and his wife, Mary, volunteered to assist evacuees from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, and were themselves evacuated, along with their four children, from their home on Lake Charles, Louisiana, when Hurricane Rita swept through the Gulf several weeks later.

Ringo spent 20 years working in Louisiana's petrochemical industry, during which he observed the disproportionate amount of cancer and other toxics-related health problems experienced by people living near industry plants and refineries. He joined fellow union members in fighting to secure a safe work environment and quality jobs, and he has long fought to empower those whose lives are negatively affected by the petroleum industry. He founded Progressive Resources Inc. to provide those communities with the expert technical assistance, legal counsel, and scientific advisors that would empower them in securing their rights and improving their quality of life.

In a recent interview with Mother Jones magazine, he described climate change as "the single greatest issue for me as an environmentalist," adding, "Its going to require a global effort to reduce greenhouse gases and hopefully derail some of the adverse impacts that we are experiencing today and the devastating impacts that we are going to experience in the future as a result of global warming."

Dawn Wright

Dawn Wright received an Individual Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1994. She is currently professor of Geography and Oceanography at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Wright's research interests include geographic information science, benthic terrain and habitat characterization, tectonics of mid-ocean ridges, and the processing and interpretation of high-resolution bathymetry and underwater videography/photography. She has completed oceanographic fieldwork in some of the most geologically-active regions of the planet, including the East Pacific Rise, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge, the Tonga Trench, and volcanoes under the Japan Sea and the Indian Ocean. Wright has dived three times in the deep submergence vehicle "Alvin" and twice in the "Pisces V." She serves on the editorial boards of the "International Journal of Geographical Information Science," "Transactions in GIS," and "Geospatial Solutions," as well as on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data. Wright is also a National Councillor for the Association of American Geographers and Research Vice-Chair for the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. Her recent books include "Undersea with GIS" (published by ESRI Press, 2002), "Marine and Coastal Geographical Information Systems" (edited with Darius Bartlett, Taylor & Francis, 2000), "Place Matters: Geospatial Tools for Marine Science, Conservation, and Management in the Pacific Northwest" (edited with Astrid Scholz, Oregon State University Press, 2005), and "Arc Marine: GIS for a Blue Planet (co-authored with Michael Blongewicz, Pat Halpin, and Joe Breman, ESRI Press, 2007).

Wright's awards include the Milton Harris Award for Excellence in Basic Research from the OSU College of Science, a Fulbright grant (to Ireland), an NSF CAREER award, Excellence in Mentoring awards from the OSU College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences, OSU Honors College Professor of the Year, the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs Education Award, and Woman of the Year in Education from "Clarity" magazine.

She earned a B.S. degree in geology from Wheaton College and an M.S. in Oceanography from Texas A&M University.

Adam Savage

Adam Savage is the current co-host of the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters, and uses his unique background to undertake scientific testing and designing of apparatus -- sometimes on a grand scale -- to dispel (or prove) commonly held theories.

Born in New York City, Mr. Savage is the son of a painter/animator/director, and started his diverse career as a child actor. His fascination with creating things started when he began building his own toys at age 5, and continues to this day.

Mr. Savage spent ten years as an artisan in modelmaking for special effects companies, including Industrial Light and Magic, Warner Bros., and Disney. He has worked as an animator, graphic designer, and set designer, and has worked in every medium from metal to glass, plastics to injection molding, and pneumatics to animatronics. He also worked in toy prototyping, working in research and development for Zoob toys, and designing large displays for them.

In addition to co-hosting Mythbusters, Mr. Savage also teaches advanced model making in the Industrial Design Department at the San Francisco Academy of Art. He also devotes time to his own art - his sculptures have been showcased in over 40 shows in San Francisco and New York.

Luis Nogales

Luis Nogales was a co-founder of MECHA both at Stanford and in the nation. He became Stanford's first Assistant to the President for Mexican American Affairs one day after graduating from the Stanford Law School in 1969. As a student leader and member of the President's senior staff, he was instrumental in institutionalizing the enrollment and participation of Latino students, faculty and staff at Stanford. He left Stanford when he was selected a White House Fellow; he continued his involvement with the University by serving on the visiting committees of the Law School, the Libraries, and the Haas Center for Public Service, which he chaired. Later he became the first Latino member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees. Although, he was often the first Latino to hold a position, his motto has been to not be the only, nor the last.

Mr. Nogales has had a full and active career in the private sector and public service. He served as CEO of United Press International and President of Univision, among senior operating positions; in addition, he has served on the board of directors Levi Strauss& Company, The Bank of California, Lucky Stores, Golden West Broadcasters, Arbitron, K-B Home, Coors, and Kaufman & Broad, S.A. France. He also served as Senior Advisor to the Latin America Private Equity Group of Deutsche Bank working in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. On corporate boards he has been an advocate for diversity of the workforce and senior management.

While assuming leadership positions in the private sector, Mr. Nogales continued participating in public service by serving, among other activities, as a Trustee of the Ford Foundation, The Getty Trust, The Mayo Clinic Trust, and Stanford University. He also served on the board of directors of the Inter American Foundation, The Inter American Dialogue, The Pacific Council on Foreign Policy and The Mexican and American Legal Defense Fund, (MALDEF) where he served as president of the Board. He was co-founder of the Los Angeles Chicano City Commissioners Caucus when he served as City Commissioner. He was also a founding member of the California Commission on Higher Education and was appointed by President Clinton to the Commission on Federal Capital Investment. He was founding chairman of the California Channel.

In 2001, Luis Nogales and his wife, Rosita, donated $1 million to MALDEF to defend the rights of immigrants. In that same year, Mr. Nogales established a scholarship endowment at San Diego State University where he attended as an undergraduate.

Currently, Mr. Nogales is founder and managing partner of Nogales Investors, a private equity investment firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York. He continues to be active in politics, social mobility reform, and corporate governance. Mr. Nogales grew up in the agricultural valleys of California, based in Calexico, working as a farm worker.

Natalia Kanem

Natalia Kanem is President of The ELMA Philanthropies, which is headquartered in New York with a funding focus on improving the health, education and livelihoods of disadvantaged youth on the African continent. Before this, she was Deputy Vice President of the Ford Foundation, with responsibility for grantmaking in human rights, governance, civil society, and reproductive health and rights. At Ford she also headed world wide grants administration and had responsibility for the management and operations of seventeen overseas offices. In the early 1990s she served as Ford's Representative for West Africa based in Lagos, Nigeria. Kanem is a pediatrician trained in epidemiology and preventive medicine, with expertise in women's reproductive health and the social consequences of conditions such as HIV/AIDS and infertility. Her special interests include the relationship of culture and tradition to improvement of conditions for poor and underserved people around the globe.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, she holds the MD degree from Columbia and did pediatric internship and residency training at the Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. She completed a Masters in Public Health and fellowships in maternal and child health epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. Kanem was a founding co-director the Harlem Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention while holding a joint appointment in Pediatrics and Public Health at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. She was also founding co-director of the Johns Hopkins Child Advocacy program to serve child victims of abuse and neglect.

Kanem has worked on international research projects in places such as Panama, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Mozambique and Nigeria, primarily focusing on traditional health practices and HIV. A native of Panama, she resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Chris Abani

Chris Abani, who is originally from Nigeria, is an award-winning poet and novelist. His novels include The Virgin of Flames (Penguin, 2007); Graceland (FSG, 2004/Picador, 2005); and Masters of the Board (Delta, 1985). He also has published two novellas, Becoming Abigail (Akashic, 2006); and Song For Night (Akashic, 2007), and several poetry collections, including Hands Washing Water (Copper Canyon, 2006); Dog Woman (Red Hen, 2004); Daphne's Lot (Red Hen, 2003); and Kalakuta Republic (Saqi, 2001).

Abani is the recipient of the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the PEN Hemingway Book Prize. He has a B.A. in English and Literary Studies from Imo State University, Nigeria, an M.A. in Gender, Society, and Culture from University of London, and a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. He teaches in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

Fredric E. Steck

Fredric E. Steck was born in Los Angeles and received a B.A. in history from UC Santa Barbara. Mr. Steck returned to Santa Barbara following his successful career in the investment banking industry. He is a member of the Chancellor's Council and the Lancaster Society and has been a trustee of The UCSB Foundation since 2002. He currently serves as a vice chair of development of The UCSB Foundation; he will be chairperson beginning October 1, 2007

Mr. Steck has been managing director for Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking and securities firm. Elected a partner of the firm in 1994, and managing director in 1996, he served as head of the western region for the Fixed Income Division in San Francisco, and as head of sales for the US Fixed Income Division in New York. He is currently an advisory director for the firm.

A private investor with interests in software and green fuel technology, Mr. Steck serves on the advisory board of Endeavor, an international non-profit organization supporting entrepreneurial development in emerging markets. He is chairman of the board of Diversified Natural Products, Inc., a biotechnology company, and is a board member of ADVAO, a software company based in San Francisco.

Mr. Steck owns and operates Rancho Latigo in Santa Ynez, raising and training cutting horses. He is a member of the National Cutting Horse Association. A father of five children, he is the sole donor and a trustee of the Fredric E. Steck Family Foundation in Santa Ynez which is devoted primarily to education and environmental organizations.