Christopher Edely, Jr.

A veteran of two tours of White House service and twice that many presidential campaigns, Edley has played a central role in national politics for more than three decades. His publications include "Not All Black and White: Affirmative Action, Race and American Values," (1996) which grew out of his work as special counsel to President Clinton; and "Administrative Law: Rethinking Judicial Control of Bureaucracy" (1990).

In the Carter administration he served as assistant director of the White House domestic policy staff, where his responsibilities included welfare reform, social security and a variety of anti-poverty measures.

Mr. Edley taught at Harvard Law School for more than two decades and co-founded its Civil Rights Project, a multi-disciplinary research and policy think tank that conducted research and policy briefings for congressional staff, journalists, and civil rights organizations.

He earned a law degree and a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University, where he served as an editor and officer of the Harvard Law Review. He has served on numerous boards and commissions including the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Carter-Ford National Commission on Federal Election Reform, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

His most recent appointments are to the state Commission on the 21st Century Economy, and as special assistant to University of California President Mark Yudof for work on community college initiatives and a UC cyber campus, among other projects.