Alan Bersin

Alan Bersin is the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs, informally known as the "Border Czar." Mr. Bersin is also a former Secretary of Education for California, as well as a former superintendent of San Diego City Schools, past federal Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, and former Attorney General’s Southwest Border Representative. He previously served as the chair of the executive committee of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Background

Mr. Bersin was born in 1946 to a traditional Conservative Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York[2]. He attended public schools and Hebrew school in New York City. He received an A.B. in government from Harvard, and then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. In 1974, he obtained a J.D. degree from Yale Law School.

From 1995-1998, Mr. Bersin served as the Attorney General’s Southwest Border Representative, coordinating law enforcement on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

His appointment in 1998 as Superintendent of Public Education in San Diego City Schools put him in control of the eighth largest urban school district in the U.S. In 2005, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him as California's Education Secretary.

Bersin in a group picture with Gov. Schwarzenegger at a bill signing in Los Angeles

Alan Bersin with President Bill Clinton

In 2007, the nonprofit electronic journalism outlet voiceofsandiego.org  reported that Bersin was considering a run for City Attorney of San Diego.

On April 15, 2009, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the appointment of Mr. Bersin as DHS Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs. In the press release announcing his appointment, Secretary Napolitano said, "Alan brings years of vital experience working with local, state and international partners to help us meet the challenges we face at our borders. He will lead the effort to make our borders safe while working to promote commerce and trade."