You founded the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) and served as its president for 30+ years. What need did you see that led you to found this organization?  Are there milestones you are particularly proud of from your tenure there? I founded CCAP with a bipartisan group of 7 state Governors led by Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl, early in President Reagan’s second term. This was a time when environmental policy was under attack and air pollution and acid…

The reported 22 percent average increase in its premiums last year was perhaps the sharpest dagger plunged into the Affordable Care Act. But a better measure that reflects what enrollees actually paid tells a very different story. Indeed, using that measure, it would seem that the California Affordable Care Act marketplace — known as Covered California — is a success that President-elect Donald Trump should look at closely to model. Health insurance in the Affordable Care Act is sold…

Every year, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors make bad choices about where—or whether—to go to college. Some who would excel at top-ranked institutions opt for second-tier institutions. And more than 200,000 students who have been accepted by colleges never enroll. The good news is that, for students in both groups, a dollop of information or a helpful nudge can change their decisions. Many high achievers from poor families don’t even consider elite schools.…

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Goldman School: Like many of you, I find myself reflecting on the state of our nation and world as 2016 draws to a close. I deeply believe in decency toward others, tolerance, respect for each and every person, the value of freedom, and the need for equal opportunity. I also believe in the importance of knowledge and information in the policy process, the opportunities for government to make the world better, and the importance of…

Too often, policy analysis is at high levels of abstraction. At the local level, there is little abstraction -- everything is excruciatingly real. Policies affect individuals with names and addresses who raise their concerns and struggles directly to your face. As President Obama once told visiting mayors, “being president is tough, but thank goodness I’m not a mayor.” Using my experiences as a former Oakland city manager, I introduce Goldman students to the world of…

Maybe you’ve heard this story line before. With the blithe stroke of a pen and without congressional approval, President Obama gave legal status to a vast population of immigrants who entered the country unlawfully—because he wanted to, and because he found a way. I’m referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program is called DACA, which until the recent presidential campaign was an acronym known by few beyond the nation&rsquo…

American public schools do a good job of getting students into college, but a poor job preparing them to succeed once they’re there. While more than two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college, nearly two-thirds of those arrive on campus unprepared for college-level rigor. Instead of trying to solve this problem together, high schools and colleges typically operate in silos—high schools concentrate on increasing graduation rates, while universities pay little attention to what&rsquo…

Photographer: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images The next U.S. president and Congress will face a serious test: What to do, if anything, about the nation's retirement crisis? Americans aren’t saving nearly enough in their 401(k)s, while wide swaths of the workforce aren't saving at all, because they don’t have access to a retirement plan. Social Security, meanwhile, faces a financial shortfall as the baby boomers enter retirement. On the Democratic side…

In the past summer, over ninety Goldman School students interned in government, nonprofit and private agencies throughout the US and the world. Max Aaronson spent his summer completing a USAID Global Development Fellowship in South Africa.  Through USAID’s Global Development Fellowship, Max interned at the Reach Trust in South Africa.  The Reach Trust was established in 2012 to inspire and improve lives through the development of innovative and cost-effective mobile solutions. Max’s projects included the…

On the eve of the Marrakech Climate Conference (COP22) the global energy and development community has an opportunity to embrace and launch a new era of clean energy and energy equity.  We all need energy.  Without affordable, reliable, safe sources of electricity which can be easily accessed, people remain stuck in poverty. There aren’t lights in homes for children to do homework nor energy for economic opportunity and advancement. Health clinics don’t have refrigerators…