Joel I. Klein is Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. Overseeing a system of 1,631 schools with 1.1 million students, 136,000 employees, and a $22 billion operating budget. He launched Children First in 2002, a comprehensive reform strategy that has brought coherence and capacity to the system and resulted in significant increases in student performance. In the next phase of Children First, Mr. Klein builds on this progress by cultivating teacher talent; expanding school choices so that students attend schools that best meet their individual needs; and innovating to ensure students are prepared for rigorous, real-world opportunities in the 21st century. Formerly chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, Inc, a media company, Mr. Klein served as Assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice until September 2000 and was Deputy White House Counsel to President Clinton from 1993-1995. Mr. Klein entered the Clinton administration after 20 years of public and private legal work in Washington, D.C. He attended New York City’s public schools and graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School. He received his BA from Columbia University where he graduated magna cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa in 1967, and earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1971, again graduating magna cum laude. He received the Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City from New York University for his work as Chancellor.