The Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund are pleased to announce that Melissa Lazarín has joined CAP/CAPAF as Associate Director for Education Policy.
Ms. Lazarín comes to CAP from First Focus, a bipartisan advocacy organization, where she served as Director for Education Policy. At First Focus, she worked closely with national advocacy organizations and congressional offices to enhance education opportunities for children in federal policy and legislation, including the No Child Left Behind Act and the “DREAM Act.”
Prior to that, she worked as Associate Director for Education Policy at the National Council of La Raza. At NCLR, she monitored federal legislation affecting K-12 English language learners and Latinos, community-based education, and access to higher education. From 2002 to 2004, she represented NCLR as co-chair of the Hispanic Education Coalition, an ad hoc coalition of national organizations dedicated to improving educational opportunities for Latinos. Ms. Lazarín also worked as a policy analyst with Social Policy Research Associates in Oakland, California, where she evaluated Job Corps, school-to-work, and workforce development programs, and participated in research examining race and ethnic relations in high schools.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be part of CAP and share in the organization’s deep commitment to address the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps that currently exist between minority and low-income students and their peers” said Ms. Lazarín.
A native of El Paso, Texas, Ms. Lazarín holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University and a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.