2014 CSPP Commencement Speakers
Alliant University is proud to announce the 2014 Commencement Ceremony speakers. The San Diego and Irving ceremony will be held on May 23rd at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego at 2pm. San Francisco’s ceremony will be held at the Craneway Pavillion in Richmond, CA on June 1st. The Los Angeles ceremony will be on June 7th located on the LA campus. Fresno and Sacramento will be holding their ceremonies on June 7th at the Saroyan Theatre. Below you will find each guest speaking as well as which ceremony they will be speaking at.
San Francisco - Jei Africa:
Dr. Jei Africa graduated from the Clinical PsyD and Clinical Psychopharmacology Post-Doctoral MS program at CSPP. He was born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines but came to America to help people who struggled with mental health issues. Currently, Jei is one of the few Tagalog-speaking clinical psychologists in San Francisco who is certified as a domestic violence and addiction counselor. Working as a consultant, educator and facilitator, he focuses on multicultural issues in clinical and organizational practice. Jei is the Director of the Office of Diversity and Equality at San Mateo Country Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS). He is a leader and advocator for promoting social justice and health equality as well as breaking down linguistic barriers. Jei is running a country-wide effort to raise awareness in cultural competence and humility practices. In 2012, Jei was one of four to receive the LGBT Local Heroes award by KQED. In 2009, he received the Statewide Cultural Competence Mental Health Summit Professional Award and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the US, in the Thoughts and Innovation Category. He has also received many awards for his volunteer and community work, including citations from Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, Congressman George Miller and Former Senator Leland Yee.
Fresno/Sacramento - Hilary Ann Chittick:
Judge Chittick was appointed to the Fresno Superior Court in 2002. She is a general trial judge and the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division, as well as the judge for Fresno County’s Behavioral Health Court. From January 2007 through December 2008 she was the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, the first woman to hold that position. Prior to her appointment she was an attorney in private practice, specializing in civil litigation from 1989-2002. From 1980-1989 she was an attorney with the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office. She is a member of the Statewide Court’s Mental Health Implementation Task Force, an adjunct professor of law at San Joaquin College of Law, a member of the Cultural Arts Rotary Club of Fresno, and a recipient of numerous awards and honors.
Los Angeles - Susan Regas:
Dr. Susan Regas graduated with a PhD from Purdue University in 1983. Her interests are focused in sex intimacy and relationship problems, differentiation based on couple therapy and differentiation and sexual satisfaction assessment. Recently, Susan was given a grant for $85,000 to expand Alliant’s Family/Child and Couple Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship program at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Los Angeles. RMH trains interns to give emotional support to families of children with serious illnesses who come from all around the world to receive treatment at other local LA hospitals. Susan works at Alliant’s Los Angeles Campus as a Distinguished Professor in the Clinical Psychology program.
San Diego/Irvine - Dr. Louise Kelly:
Dr. Kelly is a Professor of Strategy and Leadership and Program Coordinator of the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at the School of Management at Alliant International University in San Diego, California. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and is fluent in Spanish and French. She has a PhD in Strategic Management from Concordia University, Montreal and specializes in international strategic leadership research- looking at top management team leadership from a social networks and diversity perspective. Dr. Kelly started her business career in the book publishing business, working with Prentice Hall in Canada. Dr. Kelly has consulted for firms in Canada, US, Mexico, Kenya, Guatemala and Vietnam. She has taught in Canada, US, Germany, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. She has been designated an Outstanding Scholar by the US government based on her international scholarship and publications. In 2013 she was voted Outstanding Professor at California School of Management & Leadership and was invited on to the National Executive Board of the Academy of Management’s Sigma Iota Epsilon which is dedicated to excellence and ethics in management. Under her faculty leadership, Alliant’s Sigma chapter won ‘chapter of the year’ three years in a row, taking first place twice and coming in third once out of 71 national chapters. Dr. Kelly currently resides with her husband and their dog in the Hollywood Hills, California.
