Leanne Neilson is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California Lutheran University. Previously, she served as Associate Provost overseeing graduate programs, accreditation, and assessment. She was a faculty member for 11 years at Cal Lutheran in the department of Psychology, and during that time served for six years as the Director of the Psychology graduate programs. Dr. Neilson earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology, master’s in psychology, and doctorate in clinical psychology, all from Pepperdine University. She worked for 3 years as a Staff Research Associate at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI) in the Clinical Research Center for Schizophrenia at Camarillo State Hospital.

Dr. Neilson is chair of the board for the Thousand Oaks Alliance for the Arts, and chair of United Way’s Women United in Ventura County. She was on the Board of the United Way of Ventura County for 6 years, serving one year as Board Chair. She was recognized with the United Way’s Milton M. Teague award for Volunteer of the Year. Neilson served for five years on the WSCUC Substantive Change Committee, including two years as co-chair.