Press Releases

One of Hamy Sharifi's key memories as a child was going to the bank with his parents. "I remember being in awe as I walked into the bank surrounded by so many customers," he recalled. "Something sparked my curiosity about how these individuals in ...

There is no shortage of headlines declaring a crisis in higher education: declining enrollments, rising skepticism about the value of a degree, unsustainable funding models, and a growing disconnect between universities and the world of work. These ...

From the first day Kristina Kepner set foot in a fire station, she felt at home. She joined the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Explorers, a program for youth interested in fire service, when she was 15. Although being the one girl in the room ...

Dr. Rishab Gupta has had a long and successful career. He retired after decades at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine conducting cutting-edge cancer research and training surgical oncology fellows and graduate students. However, he could not ...

Charlie Jensen, Humanities & Social Sciences Charlie Jensen joined UCLA Extension in 2016 as director of the Writers' Program, and in 2025 expanded his portfolio to include programs in the Humanities & Social Sciences portfolio. Jensen holds a ...

Dear Colleagues: Following the completion of a customary five-year administrative review, I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Eric Bullard as dean of the Division of Continuing Education and UCLA Extension (UNEX). The review committee ...

In almost 25 years of lending his expertise to internationally renowned businesses, Matthew Weinraub has seen just about everything. That is why he has plenty of answers for UCLA Extension students seeking to understand the current international trade ...

For as long as she can remember, Army veteran Ineka Smith has always enjoyed working with computers, but she has never found the right moment to pivot her career toward that passion - until now. Through UCLA VetJET (Veterans Job, Education & ...

Plenty of good cheer emanated from Downtown Los Angeles as new UCLA Extension alumni members sipped and savored joining a network of more than 75,000 who have earned their certificates and their status as Bruin alumni. Approximately 100 people ...

Filmmaking has always been in Rosa Costanza's blood. Her grandfather Thomas Horton Sr. was vice president of Thalassa, the production company set up in Hollywood for Jacques Cousteau's T.V. series "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" and "The ...

Mayee Futterman has always loved art. As a child, she spent hours drawing and felt a deep connection with the Chinese art and antiques her mother collected and displayed throughout their home. But it wasn't until college when she saw her friend's ...

For 70 years, the UCLA Extension Technical Management Program (TMP) has been helping some of the nation's brightest minds become the leaders of today in their respective fields of expertise. Colt McAnlis landed in the program in the early 2010s as a ...

As the announcer called each graduate to the podium, cheers echoed and bounced throughout UCLA's Pauley Pavilion - a call and response among family and friends there to celebrate the UCLA Extension Certificate Graduation Ceremony. Approximately 900 ...

Ho Yun Kang has been on his own for about as long as he can remember. Born in Seoul, South Korea, he convinced his parents to let him go to school in the U.S. by himself when he was 14. More than a decade later, with stops along the way on the East ...

When Miguel Quintero returned from Army active duty nearly four decades ago, he was dealing with physical and mental ailments, including PTSD. Receiving help requires a lot of paperwork, and over the years, Quintero found himself becoming a bit of an ...

Danuelle Jones comes from a long line of caretakers that includes nurses, respiratory therapists and psychologists. Jones herself cared for the elderly, volunteering at Inglewood Senior Daycare and as a live-in caregiver in Sherman Oaks. Driven by a ...

As a child, William Riley found himself drawn to the music emanating from around the house. His father was a bass player, and his band would cram into the house and practice for hours. "While they were rehearsing in the living room or garage, I would ...

Terri Hines, executive vice president, communications for FOX Sports, will serve as keynote speaker at the 2025 UCLA Extension Certificate Graduation Ceremony on June 16. Hines is an award-winning marketing and communications executive with more than ...

The first time Jennifer Zalokar dropped off her mother, Karen Tucker, at her UCLA Extension creative writing class, the two couldn't help but reflect on a bit of life symmetry. "It was like a total role reversal," Tucker recalled with a smile. "Here I ...

Though most students cannot wait to be done with school, one subset of UCLA Extension's scholars are choosing to go back to class and learn simply for the fun of it. Perhaps it is because these students have the option to take classes such as Gentle ...

With new social media trends popping up almost daily, Lia Haberman is ensuring her students stay influential. Haberman has been leading courses on social media, marketing and influencing at UCLA Extension since 2018. She brought her experience from ...

For the past quarter century, the annual UCLA Extension Restaurant Industry Conference has become renowned as a collaborative forum where a diverse audience of restaurant owners, service professionals, executives, attorneys, real estate developers and ...

When the Eaton Fire in Altadena forced Stephanie Landregan to evacuate, she left worrying not only about her home, but also the surrounding natural environment. She knew she wanted to help in the restoration process. This spring, she received an ...

Julio Frenk has always been drawn to serving the public through innovation and accessibility. In a conversation with UCLA Extension Dean Eric Bullard, the new UCLA Chancellor spoke candidly about how he sees those goals aligning with UCLA Extension ...

For the first time, UCLA Extension will participate in a campuswide donation drive: the inaugural UCLA Bruin Giving Day. Bruin Giving Day takes place on April 29 to 30, with early bird donations starting at 5 p.m. on April 28. Supporters are ...