USD Law Advocate, Spring 2026

HELPING OTHERS FLY HIGH Julie Roland ’25 (JD) charted a Navy-to-law path grounded in service ❱❱ Before she studied at USD School of Law, Julie Roland ’25 (JD) flew for the U.S. Navy as a helicopter pilot and mission commander. Long before that, she was a kid in Berkeley, raised largely by a single mother, Deborah, who had lost her own sister, Joyce, to breast cancer. Joyce had been a legal aid attorney, committed to fighting for justice; Roland grew up determined to carry on Joyce’s legacy. Committed to service, Roland joined the military at 18. Two weeks after Roland was sworn in as a midshipman, Roland’s mother died of breast cancer. Now, Roland had two memories to honor. Years later, after deployments to the South China Sea and Persian Gulf, the next waypoint became clear: USD Law. Roland completed her JD in only two and a half years with a 4.0 GPA, 250 pro bono

Uzzell Branson IV named a SDBJ 2025 Leader of Influence in Law. Jamie Altman Buggy named a SD Metro Top 2025 Attorney and selected in San Diego’s 40 Under 40 for 2025 by SD Metro . Emily Howe named a SDBJ 2025 Woman of Influence in Law and a SDBJ 2025 Leader of Influence in Law. Steven Hwang (LLM) named partner at Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP. Erik Johnson recognized by the California Lawyers Association with a Labor and Employment Law Pro Bono Achievement Award. Andrew Minear honored with a Cornerstone Award by Lawyers Alliance for New York. Kirk Moon named a 2025 Southern California Legal Visionary by the Los Angeles Times. Lindsey Munyer (LLM) named a LABJ 2025 Woman of Influence. Liza Perkins-Cohen (LLM) named a SD Metro 2025 Women of Influence. Catherine Rude (LLM) joined JTaylor as a principal in the tax services division. Mehtab Sandhu appointed Orange County Superior Court judge. Elizabeth Tresp ’14 (LLM) named a SDBJ 2025 Woman of Influence in Law. 2012 Hillary Dorne named a SDBJ 2025 Women of Influence in Law.

hours and CALI awards in five classes. By graduation, Roland was awarded the James A. D’Angelo Outstanding Child Advocate Award, the Wiley W. Manuel Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services and Assemblymember Boerner’s Women of Impact Award. Roland had also earned two more Naval and Marine Corps Commendation Medals. Roland’s advocacy extends beyond the uniform and the classroom. As founder of the nonprofit Just Tryna Make Friends, she turned a backyard show into a San Diego staple, leading to a TEDx Talk where Roland urged investment in public art. Roland also served as the San Diego Chapter Director for

Julie Roland ’25 (JD)

the Truman National Security Project and the president of USD’s Public Interest Law Foundation. In 2023, Mayor Todd Gloria appointed Roland to serve on the Mission Bay Park Committee. Roland also wrote numerous op-eds, advocating for everything from climate resilience to sexual assault prevention, published by The San Diego Union Tribune and the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings Magazine . Since graduating from USD Law, the San Diego Business Journal named Roland to its “40 Next Top Business Leaders Under 40,” and Senator Catherine Blakespear recognized Roland as a Woman Who Inspires. She left the Navy last June after being promoted to lieutenant commander. In October, she received her LLM from Columbia University. While in this program, Roland worked as a consultant for USD Law’s Children’s Advocacy Institute. Today, Roland lives in New York City and works as the district director for a New York State assemblymember. Roland also continues to write; one piece on her mother’s memory was recently published by The New York Times . For Roland, the environment has changed, but not the mission. Now, this USD Law graduate and naval aviator turned advocate wants to continue honoring her late mother and aunt by serving others, especially the most vulnerable among us, to help them fly high.

SPRING 2026

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