Melissa Lazarin was Senior Advisor for K-12 Policy at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, where she worked on education issues related to immigrant children and English Learners. Her areas of expertise included education advocacy and policy development; testing, standards, and accountability; school improvement, including high school reform and learning time; and education issues facing English Learners, Latinos, and immigrants.
Previously, Ms. Lazarin was Program Director at the National Governors Association, where she oversaw issues related to educational equity. She also served in a variety of roles at the Center for American Progress, where she helped oversee the education team’s federal policy agenda and launched the organization’s early childhood work as Managing Director of K-12 education policy.
Her previous roles include Director of Education Policy at First Focus, a national children’s advocacy organization, and Associate Director of Education Policy at UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza). She began her policy career with Social Policy Research Associates.
Ms. Lazarin holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.