Pacific Research Institute Senior Director of Education, Lance Izumi

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 2024 book The Great Classroom Collapse: Teachers, Students, and Parents Expose the Collapse of Learning in America’s Schools.

He served two terms as president of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the nation, and served as a member of the Board from 2004 to 2015.

From 2016 to 2017, he served as a member of President Donald Trump’s Agency Action Team for education policy, where he authored recommendations for the incoming Trump administration. Lance was directly commissioned as a captain in the California State Military Reserve, which is now re-designated as the California State Guard, and served from 1991-96. Among his awards are the California Commendation Medal, the Achievement Ribbon, the Unit Citation Ribbon, and the General Staff Badge.

In 2019, the Pentagon appointed Lance as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of Army. He was reappointed in 2024. He also serves as president of the Community Partners Board for the U.S. Army’s Northern California Recruiting Battalion. Lance has been awarded the Army’s Meritorious Public Service Medal and the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service.

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 Arts 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.