Lance T. Izumi is Chair of the ISKME Board and Senior Fellow in California Studies and Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI). He is the co-author of the book Free to Learn: Lessons from Model Charter Schools (Pacific Research Institute, 2005). He is the author of several major PRI studies, including the "California Education Report Card: Index of Leading Education Indicators" (1997, 2000 and 2003 editions), "Developing and Implementing Academic Standards" (1999), "Facing the Classroom Challenge: Teacher Quality and Teacher Training in California’s Schools of Education" (2001), and “They Have Overcome: High-Poverty, High-Performing Schools in California” (2002), and “Putting Education to the Test: A Value-Added Model for California” (2004). Mr. Izumi is a member of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. He serves as the chair of the Board’s economic development and vocational education committee. He is also the Board’s representative to the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

In 2003, United States secretary of education Rod Paige appointed Mr. Izumi to the Teacher Assistance Corps, a task force of experts assigned to review state teacher quality plans as they relate to the federal No Child Left Behind Act. He also served as a member of the Professional Development Working Group of the California Legislature's Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education.

Mr. Izumi received his juris doctorate from the University of Southern California School of Law and his master of arts in political science from the University of California at Davis. He received his bachelor of arts in economics and history from the University of California at Los Angeles.