Press Release: Etsy CEO Josh Silverman to Address Pace University’s 2025 Commencement

NYC Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, Golden Globe–nominated Actor Cooper Koch ’18, and Nurse Leader Dr. Launette Woolforde also among this year’s speakers and honorary degree recipients

Josh Silverman, chief executive officer of Etsy, will deliver the keynote address at Pace University’s 2025 Commencement and will receive an honorary doctorate, Pace University recently announced.

Joining Silverman as honorary degree recipients and Commencement speakers are New York City Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker ’96, Golden Globe-nominated actor Cooper Koch ’18, and nationally recognized nurse executive Dr. Launette Woolforde ’93.

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The university’s commencement will be held on May 19–20, 2025, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. This year marks the fourth consecutive time Pace will host a combined ceremony for graduates of its campuses in New York City and Pleasantville, N.Y., and its Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains, N.Y. The celebration will include a main ceremony, highlighted by Silverman’s remarks, followed by individual school and college ceremonies where graduates will cross the stage.

At Commencement each year, Pace also honors community members who exemplify the Pace motto of Opportunitas. This year’s Opportunitas in Action Award-winner is Lorelei Atalie Vargas, chief community impact officer at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan.

Commencement Speakers and Honorees

Lorelei Atalie Vargas

Vargas has three decades of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors focused on critical areas of child and family wellbeing, including physical health, substance abuse, mental health, education, childcare, and food insecurity. At Trinity, she leads a place-based initiative that holistically supports communities across New York City. Previously, she served as deputy commissioner for child and family wellbeing with the City of New York, where she developed and led the country’s first child welfare division focused on a two-generation approach. She also served as deputy commissioner of early care and education, overseeing the nation’s largest publicly funded subsidized childcare system, serving nearly 110,000 children annually with a $1 billion budget.

Vargas earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College, where she serves on the Board of Trustees, and holds two master’s degrees from the University of Michigan in public policy and education administration and policy, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She was named a Pahara Fellow in 2017 and an Ascend Fellow in 2018 by the Aspen Institute, and in 2020, she was named to New York’s City & State Responsible 100 list for her leadership in transformational social change.

“This year’s group of honorees are pioneers and leaders across industries—from health care and public safety to technology and the arts,” said Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University. “We are proud to celebrate the Class of 2025 with such inspiring role models who represent the best of what it means to live with purpose and lead with opportunity.”

Josh Silverman

Josh Silverman will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at the 1:00 p.m. Undergraduate Main Ceremony on Monday, May 19, and address the Class of 2025 and their guests. Silverman is Etsy’s chief executive officer, leading the company as it builds a platform that empowers creative entrepreneurs around the world. He is also a member of Etsy’s board of directors. Silverman’s two decades of leadership experience include growing consumer technology companies and scaling global marketplaces. He previously served as president of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, CEO of Skype, and CEO of Shopping.com, and he held various executive roles at eBay. Earlier in his career, Silverman co-founded Evite, Inc., where he also served as the company’s CEO. He is currently on the board of directors of Shake Shack. Silverman was previously a member of the Stanford Business School Management Board and the Lincoln Center Theater board.

Robert S. Tucker

Robert S. Tucker will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, and address graduates of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20. Tucker is the 35th New York City fire commissioner. A lifelong New Yorker, Commissioner Tucker grew up in Manhattan and attended George Washington University. He went to law school at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University at night while working as the special assistant to the late Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. The experience allowed him to work closely with an extensive network of executive-level members of the New York City Police Department and the city administration, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, and other public safety entities.

In 1999, he founded T&M USA, an international security and investigations firm. During his time at T&M, he was also devoted to philanthropic work. This included service as a trustee of the New York City Police Foundation and on the board of directors of White Plains Hospital, Pace University, and the FDNY Foundation. As a 1996 graduate of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Commissioner Tucker has a deep connection to his alma mater and served on Pace University’s Board of Trustees from 2018 until 2024.

In 2017, through his generous support, Haub Law established the Robert S. Tucker Prize for Prosecutorial Excellence to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to criminal prosecution and exemplify excellence in prosecutorial practice. Commissioner Tucker prides himself on being a son of the city and the father of three children—two daughters and a son. He is the grandson of the late Richard Tucker, an American operatic tenor and cantor long associated with the Metropolitan Opera. Serving as the FDNY commissioner is the realization of Commissioner Tucker’s lifelong dream.

Cooper Koch

Cooper Koch ’18 will speak at the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Sands College of Performing Arts, and School of Education Undergraduate Ceremony at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, May 19. Koch is an American actor who received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Erik Menendez in the biographical crime drama series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. He has also appeared in the slasher film They/Them and the body horror film Swallowed. Cooper graduated from Pace School of Performing Arts with a BFA in acting in May 2018.

Dr. Launette Woolforde

Dr. Launette Woolforde, EdD ’93 will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, and will speak at the Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems Undergraduate Ceremony at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, May 19. Dr. Woolforde is the deputy chief nursing officer for Northwell Health and assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

With 88,000 employees, including 19,000 nurses, Northwell Health is the largest employer and largest health system in New York State. Dr. Woolforde developed its system-wide nurse residency program, which is accredited with distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She established the health system’s infrastructure that enabled growth from three Magnet hospitals to eleven—the most of any health system in New York.

Dr. Woolforde began her 32-year nursing career as a student at Pace University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Lienhard School of Nursing. She earned a master’s degree from Hunter College and a post-master’s certificate from the College of New Rochelle. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University as well as a Doctor of Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College—pursuing both degrees simultaneously and becoming the first nurse at Northwell to earn two doctoral degrees.

Dr. Woolforde has served as an executive board member at the National League for Nursing, the country’s oldest nursing organization, and on the board of the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD). For her many contributions to the profession, she received the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society for Nursing International Founders Award, was named the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s National Certified Nurse of the Year and was inducted into Columbia University Teachers College Alumni Hall of Fame. She holds two board certifications and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the Health Management Academy, and the esteemed American Academy of Nursing.

Anjali Sud

Anjali Sud will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, and will speak at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems Graduate Ceremony at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20. Sud is CEO of Tubi, America’s most watched free TV and movie streaming service. Under Sud’s leadership the company has exhibited exciting growth and momentum, scaling to over 97 million monthly active viewers, expanding globally and solidifying its position as a major entertainment destination.

Prior to Tubi, Sud served as CEO of Vimeo, the global online video platform. During her six-year tenure, she took the company public and established Vimeo as the home for video creators and professionals worldwide, building a community of over 300 million users. Before that, she held various positions in e-commerce and media at Amazon and Time Warner.

Sud has been featured in Fortune's 40 under 40, The Hollywood Reporter’s Most Powerful Women in Entertainment, Bloomberg’s Ones to Watch, and CNBC’s Changemakers. She is a designated Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She serves on the board of directors of Dolby Laboratories, SiriusXM, and as Chair of the board of Change.org. Anjali grew up in Flint, Michigan, and lives in New York City with her husband and two young sons.

About Pace University

Since 1906, Pace University has been transforming the lives of its diverse students—academically, professionally, and socioeconomically. With campuses in New York City and Westchester County, Pace offers bachelor, master, and doctoral degree programs to 13,600 students in its College of Health Professions, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Lubin School of Business, Sands College of Performing Arts, School of Education, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.