Veronica Guerrero
Dr. Guerrero has over 20 years of experience in higher education program management and was most recently the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies within the School of Management (SoM), and a full-time, tenured Professor of Management and Marketing at California Lutheran University. As Associate Dean (AD), she has coordinated SoM undergraduate student participation in the Festival of Scholars (a week-long, campus-wide series of events to highlight the academic achievements and research endeavors of students across all programs at the University) and was responsible for the academic scheduling of all undergraduate team taught, fully online, hybrid, and/or face-to-face classes in the school, including faculty participation in the first-year seminar courses. Dr. Guerrero taught in CLU’s Executive MBA in Austria and was elected by the full faculty to serve a term as Faculty Executive Committee Chair for two years. In 2017, she was awarded the California Lutheran University School of Management Advisory Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in the area of Service. Dr. Guerrero chaired the Task Force that recently change university policies for the RTP process at the request of the Faculty Senate leadership. She was asked to serve on the HSI task force and played an active role in university-wide initiatives to recruit, hire and retain students, faculty and staff that mirror the demographics of the state of California. She was subsequently invited by the University President to serve on the Inclusion implementation committee for the University’s Strategic Plan as well as a past member of the Strategic Plan Leadership Team.
Dr. Guerrero served at Cal Lutheran for over 15 years and has held in a variety of roles on various faculty and university committees. Her research interests include women and leadership, digital storytelling and entrepreneurial education. Dr. Guerrero has over 20 years of Marketing Communications experience in the technology, non-profit and education industries. She has developed and implemented marketing programs and campaigns in support of strategic partnerships between both small and large organizations.
Dr. Guerrero attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she studied Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She earned her MBA from San Jose State University while working in the Silicon Valley. She went on to attend Pepperdine University where she earned her doctorate in Organizational Leadership. Veronica was born in Oxnard, and raised in Ventura County. She is married and has two sons. Veronica enjoys spending her free time with friends and family and being outdoors exploring in the Eastern Sierras.
Phil Hampton
Dr. Hampton has served as the Associate Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since 2022 and previously held the position of Interim Associate Dean (2020 – 2022). He joined CSU Channel Islands (CI) as Associate Professor of Chemistry in 2001 and was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 2002. He started his academic career as a faculty member at the University of New Mexico after securing his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1989 and completing postdoctoral work at Caltech (1989 – 1991). During AY 19 – 20, Dr. Hampton served as the Safety Compliance Liaison for the School of Arts and Sciences. He has held additional administrative roles including the Director of Educational Partnerships, Chair of Chemistry, Interim Director of Faculty Development, and Program Coordinator of Liberal Studies. He was co-Principal Investigator and Project Director (2011 – 2016) on Project ACCESO, a nearly $6M U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution STEM grant. He founded and directed the annual CSU Channel Islands Science Carnival, a major STEM community outreach event, which is now the School of Arts and Sciences STEAM Carnival. He also founded and served as the Director of the Ventura County STEM Network. Dr. Hampton has been recognized with the El Concilio Distinguished Community Leader Award, the President’s Teaching and Innovation Award, the Maximus Award, and the Business and Technology Partnership Faculty Leader of the Year Award.
Jessica Lavariega Monforti
Dr. Lavariega Monforti holds a PhD and MA in Political Science from The Ohio State University and a BA in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Florida State University. With more than two decades of experience in higher education, Dr. Lavariega Monforti is an award-winning teacher, leader, and scholar, having received the Midwest Political Science Association Latino Caucus Distinguished Career Award, UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Award for Exemplary Mentoring of Latino/a Undergraduate Students in Political Science, various best research paper awards from major political science associations, as well as institutional leadership awards. She is the founder and co-organizer of the biennial, national Women of Color in Political Science Workshop and Past-President of the Western Political Science Association. She was previously Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at California Lutheran University and served as Chair of the Department of Political Science at Pace University NYC, and Associate and Assistant Dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as Director for the Center for Survey Research, at the University of Texas - Pan American (now called UTRGV). Her accomplishments include nearly $9M in grant and award funding, 4 books and over 50 articles and book chapters, and contributions to several news articles and broadcasts including the New York Times, La Opinión, and NPR’s All Things Considered. She currently serves as the Vice President of kidSTREAM Children’s Museum in Camarillo, CA. She is a proud member of Alpha Psi Lambda Fraternity, Inc., the first co-ed Hispanic fraternity in the US and was a first-generation, pell-eligible undergraduate student. She is motivated by the belief that education can empower students and help them and our communities achieve their potential.
Francelina "Lina" Neto
Dr. Neto has a Ph.D. from the University of London and started her academic career in Europe, where she taught a wide range of areas bridging STEM subjects, including applied mathematics, computer science and engineering. She started her career in 3D modeling, animation and visualization with applications to engineering and sciences in European universities and industry. In the US, she worked briefly at JPL, and joined Cal Poly Pomona as an Associate Professor in 1998 where she obtained early promotion to Full Professor and tenure in 2002. She started her administrative career as Associate Chair, then Department Chair, and Director of Semester Conversion in 2014. As Director of Semester Conversion and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Neto was responsible for ensuring that all curriculum developed for the semester calendar followed all approval processes, policies, executive orders, memorandums and accreditation requirements, keeping the campus work (faculty and staff) on schedule for the 2018 transition. She served as a link between the different campus units, as well as the Senate and to the Chancellor’s Office, as needed. In 2018, she became the Founding Dean of the School of Engineering at Cal Maritime. She has over 30 years of faculty and progressive administrative experience, 20 years at Cal Poly Pomona and 4 years as Dean.
Dr. Neto started her academic career in European research institutions, in automation, and visualization from airborne and space born sensors. She worked in NASA’s MISR and AirMISR projects, and while at Pomona, she researched the impact of virtual spatial analysis in student learning of engineering and STEM curricula. Dr. Neto was the recipient of the Bentley “Be Inspired” Educator of the Year award, in London, in 2013. Dr. Neto served in CPP’s Academic Senate for many years in several capacities and was also a CSU Faculty Senator. She was involved in several CSU wide endeavors, including IT and Engineering Curriculum Transfer task forces. As Founding Dean of Engineering at Cal Maritime, she developed policies and procedures to ensure the organization effectiveness and academic entity of the new School, and strengthen the connections to the community, industry, alumni and sponsors. Dr. Neto co-lead Cal Maritime’s plans for curriculum delivery during COVID. She is an advocate for California engineering and STEAM education and policy in annual visits to Congress.
Dr. Neto has extensive training and experience in strategic planning, ABET accreditation and DEI matters regarding faculty, students and staff. She holds three Higher-Ed Leadership Program certificates, one being Harvard’s Management Development Program. Dr. Neto’s experience extends from Cal Poly Pomona as well as a Dean at Cal Maritime and as a consultant for other campus, in the CSU and other universities.
Jill Leafstedt
Dr. Jill Leafstedt is the Dean of Extended University and Digital Learning and Senior International Officer at Â鶹´«Ă˝. Dr. Leafstedt received a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1992 followed by a doctorate in Disability and Risk studies with an emphasis in Cognitive Science in 2002. Jill was a bilingual fellow for the Linguistic Minority Research Institute throughout her graduate studies. Her research and publications focused on reading development for bilingual learners and the intersection of learning and technology. As faculty member in the early days of Â鶹´«Ă˝ Jill was instrumental in developing credential and masters programs in Education. In 2011 Dr. Leafstedt moved her focus to how technology can be used to increase student engagement and increase access to higher education. This work helped transform Â鶹´«Ă˝â€™s academic technology infrastructure and develop a robust system for supporting faculty in teaching and learning. The development of the Teaching & Learning Innovations unit and the Faculty Innovations in Teaching studio is a result of this work. This team has been awarded a Center of Excellence award from the New Media Consortium and a prestigious NASPA Virtual Innovations Award. Jill’s current work as Dean is focused on developing high quality online learning experiences, increasing access to higher education for adult learners, and innovative approaches to workforce development.
David Vera
Dr. David Vera has been appointed Interim Dean of the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics at CSU Channel Islands, effective August 25, 2025. He joins Â鶹´«Ă˝ from the Craig School of Business at Fresno State, where he served as Associate Dean, Department Chair, and Professor of Economics.
Dr. Vera earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 2005 and his expertise spans applied econometrics, macroeconomics, and labor economics. An accomplished scholar, Dr. Vera has published widely on topics including financial institutions, energy markets, and inequality. His research has appeared in journals such as Energy Economics, Resources Policy, and the Journal of Applied Economics.
With over four years of academic leadership experience, he has led initiatives in accreditation, strategic planning, and faculty development. His leadership has been marked by fostering student success, supporting faculty and staff, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, and building partnerships with regional stakeholders.
Kristen Radsliff
Prior to joining Â鶹´«Ă˝, Dr. Radsliff worked as a Full Professor and Associate Director (Designate) for San Jose State University’s School of Information. An experienced teacher, she taught courses in the areas of library services for diverse populations, qualitative research methods, learning design for new literacies, and directs e-portfolio culminating experiences. An expert in online education, she has likewise served as a professional development trainer to faculty in the practices connected to excellence in online education.
Kristen Radsliff holds a Ph.D. in Communication from University of California, San Diego, where she studied as a Cota-Robles Fellow at UCSD’s Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition. Her dissertation was entitled Charting Transformative Practice: Addressing Critical Multiliteracies via Informal Learning Design. She likewise holds a Master of Library & Information Science from San Jose State University (SJSU) and an undergraduate degree in Biology from University of Saint Joseph in Connecticut.
Kristen’s scholarship is equity-focused and oftentimes community-based. Her research has leveraged IMLS and other federal datasets to address challenges in rural digital equity and student success. In recognition of her achievements in equity-focused data analytics, she was the recipient of the 2023 School of Information Outstanding Professor Award and selected as an SJSU University Scholar in 2022.
Kristen is originally from San Diego, where her dad was stationed as part of his service to the US Navy. As an undergraduate, she was a student athlete in volleyball and swimming. Although her volleyball adventures are currently on pause, she enjoys swimming as a member of US Masters Swimming. She is married to Matthew Bronson and has two sons: Camden and Kristopher. Her family has a long history in Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Pt. Mugu, and the broader region, having moved to the area in 1942.