Alan D. Bersin

Alan D. Bersin
Secretary of Education, California

Alan Bersin was appointed California�s Secretary of Education on July 1, 2005 by Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Immediately prior to his appointment by the Governor, he was Superintendent of Public Education in San Diego City Schools, the nation�s eighth largest urban school district. Prior to becoming superintendent in 1998, Mr. Bersin served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California for nearly five years. As the U. S. Attorney, he was the chief federal law enforcement officer in San Diego and Imperial counties, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Bersin also served as the Attorney General�s Southwest Border Representative, responsible for coordinating federal law enforcement activities on the U. S./Mexico border. Upon assuming his duties as Superintendent of Public Education, Mr. Bersin launched a major reorganization of the district to focus its resources strategically on instruction to improve student achievement and to modernize its business infrastructure in order to support teaching and learning in the classroom. In a related capacity statewide, Mr. Bersin served between 2000 and 2003 as a member of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and for which he was selected by his colleagues as chairman in December 2000 for a two-year term.

Mr. Bersin previously was a senior partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson, where he served on the firm�s policy and compensation committees and was principally responsible for developing the firm�s innovative paralegal program. He also chaired the committee overseeing the firm�s extensive program of pro bono legal services, which is widely acknowledged as a model for major law firms. At Munger, Tolles & Olson, Mr. Bersin specialized in complex RICO, securities, commercial and insurance litigation before state and federal trial and appellate courts. He is a member of the California and Alaska bars.

Other professional experience includes employment as Special Counsel to the Los Angeles Police Commission, as visiting professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law and as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Southern California Law Center.

Mr. Bersin serves as a member of the policy board of EdVoice and of the Broad Institute for Superintendents; as a member of the Board of Overseers for Harvard University, and as a member of the Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education; as a Trustee of The Neurosciences Institute; as a member of the Advisory Board for the National Council on Teacher Quality; and as a member of the Urban Affairs Council of the California School Boards Association. He has served as a member of the Independent Citizens for California�s Children (IC3), as the Chair of the Combined Federal Campaign, United Way in San Diego; as a member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego County YMCA; as a member of the Steering Committee of San Diego Dialogue; as a member of the Advisory Board, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies (UCSD); as a member of the Council of Visitors, California Western School of Law; on the Board of Directors of Public Counsel, and the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program; and as a Master in the Enright Inn of Court. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy.

In 1968, Mr. Bersin received his A.B. in government from Harvard University (magna cum laude). He was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society and awarded post-graduate scholarships by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Football Hall of Fame. While at Harvard, Mr. Bersin was selected as a member of the All-Ivy, All-New England and All-East Football Teams and was inducted into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1995. From 1969 to 1971, Mr. Bersin attended Balliol College at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. In 1974, he received his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School. Mr. Bersin was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws (Honorary) by the University of San Diego in 1994, by California Western School of Law in 1996, and by the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2000. He is fluent in Spanish.

Mr. Bersin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended public schools in New York City. He is married to Judge Lisa Foster and is the father of three daughters: Alissa, Madeleine and Amalia Rose.