Commencement speaker Kip Tiernan founded Rosie's Place in 1974, and at the time, it was the first shelter for homeless women in the United States. Tiernan has led the fight to feed and shelter the homeless throughout Boston for 30 years. She is also the founder of the Greater Boston Food Bank, a founding member of the Boston Women's Fund, Community Works, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and Health Care for the Homeless, and co-director of the Poor People's United Fund, a funding source for grass roots community groups. She has had a long relationship with the College and the Sisters of Notre Dame.