Dr. Deana L. Porterfield is Seattle Pacific University's 12th president and the University's first female president since its founding in 1891.
She joined SPU on July 1, 2023, after nine years as president of Roberts Wesleyan University and Northeastern Seminary. President Porterfield has more than 35 years of experience in Christian higher education.
President Porterfield spent more than two decades of her career at her alma mater, Azusa Pacific University, where she advanced through positions in admissions to serve as the associate vice president in admissions, then vice president for enrollment management, chief of staff, and senior vice president for people and organizational development. She served as the executive vice president of Los Angeles Pacific University, formerly Azusa Pacific Online University, before stepping into the role of president of Roberts Wesleyan and Northeastern Seminary in 2014.
She was an involved leader within the community and in higher education in Rochester, New York. President Porterfield served on several boards and was recognized with numerous awards for community and organizational leadership. President Porterfield is known as a visionary leader with a passion for faith-based higher education which promotes transformational learning and hope.
President Porterfield earned her bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in organizational management from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. She earned a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne in La Verne, California.
President Porterfield and her husband, Doug, have been married for 33 years. They have two married daughters and five grandchildren.