Elizabeth Neeley, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Neeley is the Director of the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center's Access to Justice Division. Her primary role is as the Director of Nebraska's Minority Justice Committee, a joint initiative of the Nebraska Supreme Court and Nebraska State Bar Association to examine and address issues of racial and ethnic bias in the justice system. In this capacity she serves on the Board of Directors of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. She is also Director of the Nebraska Judicial Structure and Administration Task Force, an initiative established to identify and thoroughly examine ways in which the judicial system can more efficiently utilize judicial resources, while ensuring the four core values of accountability, access, fairness and efficiency. Dr. Neeley’s academic and professional career has focused on racial and ethnic fairness in the courts, encompassing issues including: diversity in the legal profession, racial disparities in the criminal justice system, indigent defense reform, improving court interpreter services, ensuring equal access to bail bond, and reform efforts to ensure that juries are representative of their communities. She serves on the editorial board of Court Review, the official journal of the American Judges Association, and serves as an adjunct professor in Race Relations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Neeley is a member of the Nebraska Supreme Court's Interpreter Advisory Committee and the Nebraska Crime Commission's Subcommittee on Disproportionate Minority Contact. Dr. Neeley is an honors graduate of Doane College. She received her Masters degree (2001) and Doctoral Degree (2004) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Sociology. 

Updated February 27, 2008