Graduate Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series Featuring Jennifer Friend

Graduate Division Dean Gillian Hayes is excited to continue her Graduate Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series, with this next lecture featuring UCI Alum Jennifer Friend (’95) presenting on the topic of lifelong learning. This virtual event will air on Tuesday, October 18^th from 6 pm – 7 pm PT. Jennifer will talk about her inspirational journey that took her from homelessness to CEO of the Project Hope Alliance. She will share the different ways her journey changed and how she learned to make positive adjustments to the challenges she faced. 

About Jennifer
Jennifer Friend, J.D. is Chief Executive Officer of Project Hope Alliance (PHA), which works to end the cycle of youth homelessness using a long-term, site-based model of providing whole-person care for youth experiencing homelessness in Orange County.

When Friend became CEO after serving on the board for many years, PHA supported one school and 65 kids. Under her leadership, the organization now serves more than 2,580 youth attending 43 schools, having built a nationally recognized model for ending homelessness, and achieving a high school graduation rate more than 20% above the national average. Friend’s personal experience as a homeless child fuels her passion for ensuring no child is limited by their parent's economic circumstances.

Prior to joining PHA, Friend was a partner at a large law firm practicing civil litigation and transaction law. Friend holds a J.D. from Whittier Law School, a B.A. in Criminology, Law, and Society from UCI and is a graduate of “Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management” from Harvard Business School.

She currently serves in community roles including trustee of the UCI Foundation, appointed member of the University of California Fiat Lux Alliance; past president of the UCI Alumni Association and member of the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute Advisory Board, to name a few. Jennifer lives in Costa Mesa with her fellow Anteater husband Rob Smith and their two children, Parker and Beck.