Dr. Lisa Dunne – Transforming Education Through Faith and Purpose
Most Influential Female Educational Leader of the Year 2025
Dr. Lisa Dunne is a leader who believes in changing the future of education through purpose, mentorship, and community. Her journey began in a traditional classroom where she served as a college professor for twenty years. Over those two decades, she observed the deep challenges present in the modern education system. She saw students struggling with heavy debt, emotional stress, and a lack of connection with their professors and peers.
She noticed that many teaching methods were outdated and that students were not being guided to think critically or build strong life skills. We, at The EliteX, are proud to have Dr. Lisa Dunne as the Most Influential Female Educational Leader of the Year 2025.
This realization pushed her to make a bold decision. Instead of remaining part of a system she believed was not serving students well, she chose to build a better model. She left her stable job and started Chula Vista Christian University, known as CVCU, a place where education focuses on personal growth, financial freedom, and meaningful mentorship. She took a risk to follow her vision, and that decision became the foundation of a new movement in education.
Her commitment to education has deep roots. Dr. Dunne comes from a family with four generations of teachers, and her childhood experiences shaped her view of learning as a powerful life-changing force. Growing up without a mother, she often felt alone and unsure of her path. But she met teachers who cared not just about her grades, but about her heart and her future. They noticed when she needed support and stepped in to encourage her and guide her. They showed her what strong character, compassion, and hope look like. These early experiences helped her see that education is not only about learning facts. It is about building confidence, resilience, and purpose. These teachers shaped her life, and she now strives to do the same for others. She believes that educators have the ability to help students see who they can become, and this belief continues to guide her work every day.
Being recognized as the Most Influential Female Educational Leader of the Year 2025 is a meaningful moment in her journey. To her, this award is not only a personal honor but also a reminder of her responsibility to help transform lives. She believes that education is not just about information but about transformation. She encourages people at every stage of life to seek mentorship and to give mentorship. She often shares a simple idea – every person should learn from someone fifteen years ahead of them and guide someone fifteen years behind them. She sees this as a way to build a strong thread of wisdom across generations, ensuring that each person contributes to a culture of learning, support, and growth.
Modern education is broken, but together we can rebuild it through mentorship, faith, and community.
Her journey as a leader has not been without challenges. While the education world has made progress in welcoming more female leaders, her biggest battle has been related to faith-based education. CVCU is the first university in its city, strategically located near the border of Tijuana and San Diego. The city has long hoped to bring in a state-funded university, but when Dr. Dunne launched CVCU in 2020, the city refused to sell land to the institution because it was faith-based. Despite private donors offering funds and despite being the only university serving that region, the university faced barriers simply because of its values. While public universities receive government support, schools like CVCU must rely on private funding. Yet Dr. Dunne has not given up. She continues to fight for land to build a campus where students can learn without debt and grow through mentorship and community. Her resilience reflects her belief that meaningful change requires courage and persistence.
Innovation sits at the heart of Dr. Dunne’s work. When she looked at the growing emotional stress among young people, the heavy burden of student loan debt, and the lack of strong community bonds, she knew the solution was possible. Instead of following a traditional college model, she created a system focused on faith, mentorship, and debt-free learning. Her vision is to build 3100 similar programs across the United States, one in every major county. These schools aim to offer affordable education rooted in local communities, where students can stay connected to their families, find local internships, and learn from mentors who care about their success. Through this model, learning becomes a shared effort between families, educators, and communities.
To Dr. Dunne, a successful educational environment is one where students grow both in knowledge and character. She believes that true education goes beyond memorizing facts. It teaches students how to think critically, ask good questions, and build strong relationships. She often says that knowledge is everywhere today. With the internet, a student can learn almost anything on their own. But what makes a student successful is the ability to think deeply, communicate clearly, and connect meaningfully with others. She wants students to discover their purpose and understand the gifts they bring to the world. She believes that when students know their purpose, they become confident and capable leaders who can serve their communities with wisdom and compassion.
Among her proudest achievements is launching 36 homeschool academies, a community college, and a university. These institutions give families alternatives to traditional schooling and help students find a sense of belonging, purpose, and motivation. For Dr. Dunne, seeing students shift from feeling bored or lost to becoming inspired and hopeful is the greatest reward. She also believes that her role as a mother is one of her most important achievements. She often says that success outside the home cannot make up for failure within it. Her children are her greatest legacy, and she is proud to see them grow into strong, capable individuals who share her values.
True learning happens when students discover their purpose, build character, and connect deeply with others.
Mentorship and collaboration guide her leadership style. She practices what she teaches by seeking wisdom from older mentors while also guiding younger leaders. She sees leadership as a shared journey where people learn together, grow together, and support one another. She values building trust, creating strong relationships, and encouraging open communication. For her, leadership is not about authority. It is about connection, service, and mutual respect.
While technology plays a role in her institution, Dr. Dunne emphasizes human connection. She believes that too much screen time weakens emotional development and relationships. Her teaching approach uses Socratic and inquiry-based methods that teach students to think deeply, ask meaningful questions, and engage in real conversations. She believes this helps students develop emotional resilience, communication skills, and empathy, which are essential for success in life.
Her core values center on relational health, faith, and emotional resilience. She teaches students that lasting success comes from strong relationships, open communication, and forgiveness. She believes that students today, often raised in a conflict avoiding culture, need to learn how to navigate difficult conversations and remain committed to healthy friendships. She often speaks about the importance of building emotional strength and practicing empathy, patience, and forgiveness.
Dr. Dunne encourages young women to embrace their strengths and not feel pressured to become someone they are not. She believes women are naturally gifted in building relationships and supporting communities, and she encourages them to use these qualities instead of pushing them aside. She sees both men and women as uniquely designed with strengths that complement each other, and she encourages women to lead with courage, authenticity, and compassion.
Education is not only about information – it is about transformation.
To care for her own health, Dr. Dunne builds her day around structure and balance. She starts her morning with time in the Bible and exercise, which she believes strengthens her spiritually, mentally, and physically. She lives in an area surrounded by green parks and walking trails, and she enjoys spending time in nature. She values time with her family, with whom she travels, serves, and spends intentional time. She believes that healthy leaders must take care of their minds, bodies, and relationships so they can serve others with strength and joy.
Her vision for the future of education is bold. She wants to see standardized, disconnected learning replaced with personalized, community centered education. She dreams of building a network of mentor driven, debt free schools across America that empower students to grow in wisdom, character, and purpose. She believes this model can restore hope, rebuild communities, and equip the next generation to lead with integrity and compassion.
Her message to educators is clear. Modern education is broken, but the future can be rebuilt. She calls on teachers, leaders, and parents to join the movement, create meaningful alternatives, and partner with communities to raise strong, thoughtful, and confident students. She believes that every educator has a role to play in shaping the future, and she encourages them to step forward with courage and vision. Through faith, community, and mentorship, she believes America can raise a generation ready to lead with wisdom, strength, and purpose.
