PublicSquare Staff

Leonard Wallock, PhD

Leonard Wallock, PhD

Executive Director

Leonard Wallock’s educational background and professional experiences are deeply connected to his current work as Executive Director of PublicSquare. He holds a BA in history from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in American urban history from Columbia University. While teaching undergraduate history courses both at public and private colleges in New York City, Dr. Wallock lectured on behalf of the New York Council for the Humanities and co-directed Columbia University’s Seminar on the City. After becoming a tenured professor at Hunter College, Dr. Wallock accepted an administrative appointment at UCSB to serve first as Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, then as Program Coordinator for the Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies, and finally as Associate Director of the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion and Public Life. Across these administrative roles, Dr. Wallock programmed over 300 free, educational public lectures and forums for the local community. Dr. Wallock also served as a primary fundraiser for these educational programs, raising over $4,000,000 through matching grants, foundation grants, endowments, individual donations, and institutional co-sponsorships.

Dana Wallock, MA

Dana Wallock, MA

Director of Programs and Public Affairs

Dana Wallock, who earned a BA in history from UC Berkeley and an MA in American cultural history from UCLA, has an extensive professional background in both the literary and nonprofit worlds. She has worked in communications, development, and leadership capacities for institutions including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, UCLA, the New York Historical Society, as well as many California-based organizations and publications including the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara Dance Arts, and The Santa Barbara Independent. From 2006-2014, she served as the Director of Development for the Arts Mentorship Program in Santa Barbara and from 2012-2103 also served as its Interim Executive Director. As an administrator, she oversaw staff, budgets, programs, board meetings, and general operations.  As a development officer, she wrote and secured grants and donations, coordinated fundraising events, oversaw annual campaigns and, most notably, created and executed the capital campaign, “Building Dreams from the Ground Up,” which successfully raised funds to renovate a 9,000-square-foot performing arts center.
Veronica Nguyen

Veronica Nguyen

Social Media Coordinator

Veronica Nguyen is a fourth-year political science/pre-law major at Westmont College. She is passionate about contemporary political issues and is involved with conservative groups on-campus. Living in Santa Barbara has allowed her to work with Young America’s Foundation and attend Mass at the Mission. She is a past PublicSquare Student Fellow, has worked on our COVID-19 Equity Internship Project, and is eager to continue promoting PublicSquare’s Student Engagement Programs to local students. 

Program Assistants at Work!

2019-2020

2018-2019

2017-2018