Dr. Leah Vriesman is Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs at UCLA Extension and Professor and former Executive Director of Executive Programs in Health Policy & Management, in UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. She teaches Strategic Management of Health Service Organizations, International Comparative Health Systems, and speaks often on health technology and innovation and strategic thinking. Dr. Vriesman is active in Corporate Education at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and specializes in innovative leadership development for provider organizations and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Dr. Vriesman received her PhD in Medical Sociology from UCLA (2001) and her MHA and MBA in Strategy and Finance from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis (1991).

Dr. Vriesman was chosen as the inaugural 2018 National Faculty of the Year from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA.org). As a 2010-2011 U.S. Fulbright grant recipient and German Scholar Exchange award winner, Dr. Vriesman spent a year in Neu Ulm, Bavaria, Germany. She was at the University of Applied Sciences teaching International Healthcare Management and Strategic Marketing to German physicians studying for their Healthcare MBA.  She travels frequently to give keynotes for international audiences (East Africa, Asia, Europe) on healthcare innovation and transforming healthcare delivery systems.