Spring Commencement Speakers Announced
Georgia Tech’s Spring Commencement ceremonies will celebrate 3,128 bachelor’s graduates, 3,775 master’s graduates, and 226 Ph.D. graduates. Meet the five speakers who will share their experiences as leaders and pioneers within their industries.
Michael Gazarik
Thursday, May 7, 10 a.m.
Ph.D. Commencement
Michael Gazarik, director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, is a nationally respected aerospace and research leader, widely recognized for leading complex research enterprises with a focus on stability, strategic alignment, and mission impact.
Gazarik oversees GTRI’s more than 3,000 employees and nearly $1 billion in annual research across autonomous systems, cybersecurity, electromagnetics, electronic warfare, modeling and simulation, sensors, systems engineering, and threat systems. He previously served in leadership roles at NASA and Ball Aerospace.
He earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. Gazarik is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a former chair of AIAA’s Corporate Strategic Committee, and was elected to the AIAA Board of Trustees in 2025.
Sen. Raphael Warnock
Thursday, May 7, 6 p.m.
Bachelor’s Commencement
Raphael Warnock was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2021 and reelected to a full term in 2022, becoming Georgia’s first Black senator and the second Black senator to represent a southern state since Reconstruction.
In Congress, Warnock has advocated for social justice and worked to expand healthcare access, safeguard nutrition benefits, protect voting rights, and end mass incarceration. He serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; the Finance Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging. In 2005, Warnock became the youngest senior pastor in the history of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the former pulpit of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Since then, the church has welcomed more than 4,000 new members. In 2016, Warnock’s footprints were added to the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta.
Warnock holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College and a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Jaime Gilinski
Friday, May 8, 10 a.m.
Bachelor’s Commencement
Jaime Gilinski is the CEO of Nutresa — one of Latin America’s largest food companies — and one of the region’s most prominent business leaders and philanthropists with a portfolio that spans banking, real estate, and corporate investments across the U.S., U.K., and Latin America.
The Georgia Tech alumnus (IE 1978) has expanded Nutresa’s international footprint, and the company has been recognized for its innovation, sustainability, and talent development. In 2021, Gilinski established the Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Scholarship Fund within Georgia Tech’s Office of International Education to support students from Colombia and Panama. In 2025, Nutresa entered into a partnership with the Scheller College of Business to provide its employees with a world-class business education and immersive international experience that reflects Gilinski’s vision of global leadership and commitment to transformative, cross-cultural learning.
For his contributions to the Institute and commitment to promoting Tech’s values, he will be awarded an honorary Ph.D.
Gilinski is involved with a variety of charitable causes, and through the Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Endowment, he supports the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, where he earned his MBA.
Jenny Lentz Moore
Friday, May 8, 4 p.m.
Bachelor’s Commencement
Jenny “Juno” Moore is a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot who now works in training and operations support at Lockheed Martin.
After graduating from Tech in 2005, Moore enlisted in the Navy and became an instructor at the branch’s Nuclear Power School. In 2011, she earned her wings as a pilot. Grading out as one of the Navy’s elite fighter pilots, Moore flew in combat missions in Syria and Iraq before transitioning from active duty to the reserves in 2017. She made history as the first female F-35 civilian instructor pilot and was responsible for all aspects of F-35 pilot training, from maintaining full-mission simulators to delivering academic lectures and developing future training. Before joining Lockheed Martin, Moore established the United States Marine Corps F-35 training at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
As an undergraduate, Moore was a member of Georgia Tech’s women’s track and field team and the Institute’s first women’s swimming and diving team. She was honored as a member of the 2021 Class of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40 and was among the inaugural honorees of the Pathway of Progress art installation on campus in 2025.
Thasunda Brown Duckett
Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m.
Master’s Commencement
Thasunda Brown Duckett is the president and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA, a market-leading retirement company serving millions of employees in higher education, healthcare, and government. Under her leadership, TIAA has expanded its offerings to more customers than ever before.
Prior to joining TIAA, Duckett held leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase, Consumer Bank and Auto Finance, and Fannie Mae. Throughout her career, Duckett has been recognized as a leader in the industry. She was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024 for her financial inclusion advocacy. In 2021, she was named to Forbes’ and Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful Women lists.
In addition to her work in addressing inequities in retirement savings, Duckett founded the Otis and Rosie Brown Foundation to “highlight extraordinary people, organizations, and corporations who utilize ordinary resources to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from the University of Houston and an MBA from Baylor University.