Michal Kurlaender is Professor of Education Policy and Chair at the School of Education, University of California—Davis. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of educational inequality across a diverse set of educational pathways. Kurlaender serves as a faculty director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), and is Lead Researcher for Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research. She received her doctorate in education from Harvard University in 2005. Her work has been published in various academic and policy outlets.