Home > Press Releases > Irish Delegate, Mayor of Savannah, State Lobbyist Among Speakers for Spring 2023 Georgia Southern University Inaugural Ceremonies
Georgia Southern University has named five acclaimed speakers for the spring 2023 university commencement ceremonies on May 9, 10, 11, and 13.
Approximately 4,200 students will graduate with associate, baccalaureate, master’s, specialist and doctoral degrees at five ceremonies this semester in Statesboro and Savannah. Candidates have the opportunity to choose the location where they wish to graduate.
The speakers were fixed for each ceremony.
The dates, colleges and speakers for each ceremony are:
Tuesday, May 9, 10 a.m. – Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro Campus
CColleges of Arts and Humanities, Science and Mathematics, Waters College of Health Professions and Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
Kathryn Lanier, Ph.D.
Kathryn Lanier, Ph.D., is a science education leader and master communicator who currently serves as Director of STEM Education Outreach at Southern Research, a first-of-its-kind position in Birmingham, Alabama. Since 2017, Lanier and her team have built their program from the ground up and impacted more than 225,000 students across Alabama.
In 2019, she was named to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s Advisory Council for Excellence in STEM. Lanier was also appointed to represent the 6th congressional district of Alabama on the Mathematics Course of Study Committee and the 7th congressional district of Alabama on the Science Course of Study Committee.
She is one of Governor Ivey’s general representatives on the Alabama STEM Council. Her work on the council led to the creation of Alabama STEM Explorers, an Emmy Award-nominated series that aired on PBS and drew more than 100,000 viewers each week.
Lanier earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgia Tech, where she worked as part of the NASA Center for the Origin of Life. In 2012 she graduated from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Lanier was in Georgia Southern’s 40-under-40 class in 2018 and was named as part of Georgia Tech’s inaugural 40-under-40 class in 2020.
Wednesday, May 10, 10 a.m. – Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro Campus
Parker College of Business and College of Education
HE Geraldine Byrne Nason
Her Excellency Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, who hails from the town of Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, assumed her role as Ireland’s 19th Ambassador to the United States in August 2022. Prior to this appointment, she was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United States in New York. Upon arriving at the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Nason led Ireland’s successful campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council; and she led the New York Security Council team for the 2021-2022 term.
During her career, Ambassador Nason has served in Brussels, New York, Paris, Vienna and Helsinki. As Second Secretary-General in the Department of the Taoiseach, she was the most senior female civil servant in Ireland. A passionate advocate for women’s rights and empowerment, she served as Chair of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2018 and 2019. She also co-chaired high-level political negotiations on Nelson Mandela’s centenary and on behalf of vulnerable United Nations member states.
In 2014, Ambassador Nason was elected a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy, the highest academic honor bestowed in Ireland. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Maynooth University and Masters and Bachelors degrees in Literature from St. Patrick’s College, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Thursday, May 11, 10 a.m. – Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro Campus
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing
Brandon Butler
Brandon Butler is a veteran marketing and creative director and current CEO of Butter.ATL, Atlanta’s premier cultural channel showcasing the people, places and experiences that make the city extraordinary. Under Butler’s leadership, Butter.ATL expanded its ownership group to include recording icons Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and Michael “Killer Mike” Render.
Throughout his career, Butler has been involved in notable campaigns for major brands such as Sprite, Amazon, Major League Baseball, NBA and Nike. In addition to his role at Butter.ATL, Butler is a partner and chief content officer at Majority, AdWeek’s 2022 Breakthrough Agency of the Year, co-founded by Shaquille O’Neal.
An active participant in community and local initiatives, Butler serves as an advisory board member for Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ 2023 Year of the Youth campaign.
Recognized as one of Adweek’s 2021 Creative 100 and named among Atlanta Magazine’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders for 2020, 2021 and 2022, Butler has become a sought-after speaker and panelist in the region and beyond.
Butler holds a BA in Information Technology from Georgia Southern and an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m. – Enmarket Arena, Savannah
CColleges of Arts and Humanities, Education, Science and Mathematics, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Parker College of Business and Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing
Dear Mr. Van R. Johnson II,
Mayor of Savannah
Purpose, passion and people are the core principles that guide and drive the life of the Honorable Van R. Johnson II, the 67th Mayor of the City of Savannah.
Mayor Johnson was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York but with strong Savannah roots. He is a graduate of the New York City Public School System and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Savannah State and Georgia Southern.
Mayor Johnson is only the fourth elected official from Savannah to serve on the National League of Cities board of directors. He also recently served as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the National League of Cities, becoming the first Savannahian to hold such an office.
Having served as director of the Chatham County Youth Commission for over 23 years, he is nationally recognized as an innovator and thought leader in youth development and engagement.
Mayor Johnson’s leadership and humanitarian efforts have been widely recognized. He received his Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Savannah State University and served as the 2017 Savannah Martin Luther King Observance Day Parade Marshal. He was a 2017 Savannah Black Heritage Festival honoree, recipient of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia Civic and Community Service Award and the James P. Simms Public Service Award from the King Tisdell Cottage Foundation, and a 2016 Savannah State University Scholar. He is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, as well as numerous other social and civic organizations.
Saturday, May 13, 3 p.m. – Enmarket Arena, Savannah
Waters College of Health Professions and Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
Rebekah King
Rebecca King is currently a state lobbyist for the American College of Surgeons (ACS), based in Washington, DC, advocating for more than 75,000 surgeons and their patients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In her role, she empowers surgeons to engage state legislators on a variety of public health issues, such as: These include expanding Medicaid, surgical quality and safety, paying physicians, medical liability reform, cancer screening and prevention, funding state trauma systems, and more.
A Double Eagle, King attributes much of her success to her professional involvement with Campus Recreation and Intramurals (CRI) while attending Georgia Southern. Since graduating with a Bachelors in Public Health in 2015 and a Masters in Health Administration in 2017, she has had incredible opportunities, ranging from streamlining a surgical service line of a $2.5 billion healthcare system to designing and implementing national programs for health education for patients.
Before transitioning her career into government affairs, King led an employee wellness program for a National Cancer Research Institute in Bar Harbor, Maine, in addition to the National Health Service Corps program for a 9-hospital health care system in New York State, where she first began as Healthcare Administrative Assistant.
In addition to her work with the ACS, she is actively involved in the leading networking organization Women in Government Relations, where she completed the Judy Schneider Policy Fellowship, and is co-chair of the Georgia Southern DC Area Alumni Network.
