Lance Izumi is Senior Director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute. He has written and produced books, studies, and films on a wide variety of education topics. Most recently, he is the author of the 2017 book The Corrupt Classroom and the 2019 book Choosing Diversity: How Charter Schools Promote Diverse Learning Models and Meet the Diverse Needs of Parents and Children. In 2016-17, Lance served on President Trump’s transition Agency Action Team for education policy. As a member of the transition team, he drafted policy papers and recommendations for consideration by the Trump administration. From 2004 to 2015, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the nation, and served two terms as president of the Board. From 2015 to 2018, Lance chaired the board of directors of the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the official non-profit that supports the community college system, and remains a member of the board. Lance served as a commissioner on the California Postsecondary Education Commission and as a member of the United States Civil Rights Commission’s California Advisory Committee. In 2019, Lance was appointed as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of Army. In this role, he promoted good relations between the Army and the public in Northern California and advised the Secretary on regional issues. Lance served as a captain in the California State Military Reserve from 1991-96 and was awarded the CSMR Commendation Medal. He is the president of the Community Relations Board for the U.S. Army’s Northern California Recruiting Battalion and was awarded the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 2016. In 2017, the Association of the United States Army bestowed upon Lance the Colonel David A. Appling Award for Outstanding Recruiting Support. Lance served as chief speechwriter and director of writing and research for California Governor George Deukmejian and as speechwriter to United States Attorney General Edwin Meese III in President Ronald Reagan’s administration. Lance received his juris doctorate from the University of Southern California School of Law, his master of art in political science from the University of California at Davis, and his bachelor of arts in economics and history from the University of California at Los Angeles.