From the DFER Press Release:

Alan Bersin, a member of the DFER’s Board of Directors, today will be named to direct the Obama administration’s policy on illegal immigration and drug-related violence along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Bersin, the former superintendent of the San Diego City Schools and former California Secretary of Education, served in a similar “border czar” capacity in the U.S. Justice Department under President Clinton. The role today falls under the Department of Homeland Security.

“Alan is a lifelong Democrat whose family didn’t even consider crossing Al Shanker’s picket lines back when he was growing up in Brooklyn. He nonetheless led the way as one of the nation’s first ‘non-traditional’ big city school leaders in illustrating the significant rift within the Democratic Party on the issue of education reform,” said Joe Williams, DFER executive director. “He took a lot of hits for pointing out what should have been obvious, but he helped lead the way for the kind of thoughtful, progressive work that many Democrats are doing in education today.”

Bersin has served on DFER’s board since its formal launch in 2007.

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a political action committee whose mission is to encourage a more productive dialogue within the Democratic Party on the need to fundamentally reform American public education. DFER operates on all levels of government to educate elected officials and support reform-minded candidates for public office.