Director, Commencement & Special Events, Office of Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs
University of California, Irvine
Kelly Carland is the director of commencement and special events for the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs at UC Irvine. She manages 10 ceremonies with the help of over 150 volunteers per ceremony from across campus departments. Commencement ceremonies are spread out across four days with approximately 8,000 graduates participating with over 50,000 guests.
Claudia Gil
Associate Director of University Events
Claudia Gil is the Associate Director of University Events at New York University (NYU). Claudia’s relationship with NYU, where she earned a BA before obtaining her MS Ed from Hunter College, City University of New York, and its All-University Commencement goes back a long way, from serving as a student usher during Washington Square Park commencements to being a member of the team that plans and executes the annual university-wide ceremony, hosting over 30,000 candidates and their guests, most recently at Yankee Stadium. Her roles over time have included managing the Commencement website, space, data, catering, volunteer recruitment and assignment, printing, academic attire, ceremony components and timing, scripts, the transition from paper to electronic ticketing; and exploring alternate venues.
Christine Le
Senior Planner, Convocation & Advancement Events
Christine is currently the Senior Planner, Convocation & Advancement Events at York University in Toronto, Canada. In addition to being responsible for the coordination of almost two dozen convocation ceremonies each year, Christine also plans donor recognition events at York and develops event communications. Prior to joining York, she helped bring communities together through the organization of municipal events. Christine has volunteered on the NAACO Communications Committee since 2021 and now serves as the Communications Committee Chair. She enjoys curating content for the Mace and helping members share their stories, knowledge, and insights with the NAACO community.
Sariah Tillotson, Education Committee Co-Chair – Conference
University of Nevada, Reno
stillotson@unr.edu
Sariah currently serves as the Graduation Services Coordinator housed in the Admissions & Records Office at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has been involved with the commencement ceremonies as a coordinator on the main Commencement Operations team since she joined the University in 2012. In addition to commencement Sariah is responsible for graduation procedures, quality control measures, data reporting and analysis associated with undergraduate and graduate degree awarding and certification. She attended and presented at her first NAACO Conference in 2018. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from Utah State University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Claudia Dávila
President
Director, Commencement and Ceremonies
University of Arizona
claudia@arizona.edu
Claudia Dávila is the Director, Commencement and Ceremonies at the University of Arizona where she directs the overall production and execution of the main commencement ceremony along with other academic ceremonies. She has been working with commencement operations for over 23 years. Claudia is responsible for budgetary and logistical operations for the department. As well as, she serves on campus committees and assists with campus events that include large scale events.
