Zoanne Nelson

With its tripartite mission of teaching, research, and public service, the University of California encompasses ten campuses, five medical centers, and three national labs. It serves 273,000 students, with an annual budget of $36 billion. UCOP is the headquarters of the University, managing its fiscal and business operations, and supporting the academic, research, and public service mission. Nelson is responsible for providing strategic guidance, decision making, resource planning, policy development, and organizational design analyses for the UC system and UCOP.

Since joining UCOP in 2012, Nelson has also served as Chief of Staff to the CFO, and Program Director for a system-wide program that redirects $200 million annually to teaching, research, and public service through strategic procurement. She was previously Associate Director of the UC San Francisco Program Management Office, where she led the implementation of several finance, procurement, research, and HR systems. Before relocating to the west coast, Nelson lived and worked in Washington D.C. and abroad for PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she led projects worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development. She holds an M.B.A. in International Development from American University and B.S. degrees in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Delaware.