Joel Klein
Chancellor, New York City Schools

Joel I. Klein became New York City schools chancellor in July 2002 after serving in positions in government and business. Klein’s comprehensive reform program, Children First, aims to transform New York’s public school system. Before Klein became chancellor, he was chairman and chief executive officer of Bertelsmann, Inc. From 1997 to 2001, Klein worked as assistant attorney general in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division. His appointment to the U.S. Justice Department came after Klein served two years as deputy counsel to President Clinton. Klein entered the Clinton administration after 20 years of public and private legal work in Washington, D.C. He has served as a visiting and adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and has published several articles in both scholarly and popular journals. He received his B.A. from Columbia University and J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1971.