We will honor and celebrate our graduates on Saturday, May 20, at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, 290 Northern Ave., Boston, Mass.
Four esteemed honorary degree recipients will address members of the Class of 2017: National Teacher of the Year Sydney Chaffee, Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, Artists For Humanity founder Susan Rodgerson and MacArthur Genius Alex Truesdell.
“At Lesley, developing teachers is one of our core missions, and we are incredibly honored to have Sydney return to us as our nation’s top teacher, sharing her experiences and inspirations with our students as they graduate,” says President Jeff A. Weiss. “Sen. Chang- Díaz and our alumni speakers – Sydney Chaffee, Alex Truesdell and Susan Rodgerson – embody the Lesley ideal of challenging boundaries, seeking out different perspectives, and using critical thinking and creativity to solve problems in ways that fundamentally improve the lives of others and society as a whole.”
Alumna Sydney Chaffee was named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in 2016 and National Teacher of the Year in 2017. She has been lauded for using education and the arts as a tool for social justice. She earned her master’s in education at Lesley in 2007.
Sonia Chang-Díaz is a former public school teacher and the first Latina elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. Since being sworn into office in 2009, Sen. Chang-Díaz has been recognized as a champion for public education, criminal justice reform and increasing opportunities for low-income and immigrant communities.
Alumna Susan Rodgerson is the founding executive/artistic director of Artists For Humanity (AFH) in Boston, a nonprofit youth development organization that offers young people transformative opportunities through paid employment in art and design. In 1979, she earned a fine art diploma from Lesley’s College of Art and Design.
Alumna Alex Truesdell is a 2015 MacArthur Fellow and founding director of the Adaptive Design Association. She has helped thousands of teachers, therapists and parents create low-cost, life-changing adaptations to help people with disabilities. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Lesley in 1979 and a master’s degree in 1998.
There will be two Commencement ceremonies on May 20 as follows:
9 a.m. – Lesley will honor its graduate students, who will be addressed by honorary degree recipients Sonia Chang-Díaz and Alex Truesdell.
1:30 p.m. – Lesley will honor its undergraduate students, who will be addressed by honorary degree recipients Sydney Chaffee and Susan Rodgerson.