Lisa Nelson is instructor of violin and viola at Illinois Wesleyan University, coordinator of the IWU String Preparatory Department, and faculty of the Illinois Chamber Music Festival. As an active chamber musician, she regularly appears in recitals throughout the U.S., Canada, Bulgaria, Italy, Israel, and the Czech Republic.

Lisa Nelson is finishing her doctorate in viola performance from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she received her Master of Music degree. She also holds a double-degree (Bachelor of Music in violin performance and Bachelor of Arts in mathematics) from St. Olaf College, Minnesota, where she graduated summa cum laude with departmental distinction in music. Nelson's teachers have included Masumi Per Rostad, Sherban Lupu, Charles Gray, and Mihai Craioveanu.

Along with teaching and performing, Lisa Nelson is Executive Director of the Illinois Chamber Music Festival and IWU Cello Camp for young talented musicians and is on faculty of the International Chamber Music Academy in Kyustendil, Bulgaria.