Daniel Grunfeld, a Los Angeles attorney with three decades of legal, community-building and policymaking experience, has joined RAND as the Executive Vice Dean for Strategy and Partnerships of the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

In this newly created position, Grunfeld will help develop and oversee the strategic direction of Pardee RAND, enhance new partnerships and philanthropic support, and will help expand the reach, capacity and impact of the organization.  Pardee RAND, the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation, is in the midst of a far-reaching effort to revamp policy graduate education and policy analysis in order to make it more relevant and responsive to today’s policy world.

“As a longtime member of the RAND family I’m excited by the opportunity to be a part of this important and timely effort,” Grunfeld said. “The challenge of developing the globe’s future great policy leaders is critical, and I am honored to be part of this endeavor.”

“The world has fundamentally changed and demands new thinking, new tools and methods, a deep understanding of what it takes to effect change and a cutting-edge application of technology to policy changes,’’ Dean Susan L. Marquis said. “Having Dan join our leadership team will greatly enhance our efforts.”

Grunfeld previously served as the president and CEO of Public Counsel, the largest pro bono public interest law firm in the United States. Grunfeld also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and most recently as the Leader of the West Coast litigation practice of Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

Grunfeld is a long-time supporter of Pardee RAND, and served on the school’s Board of Governors until joining the school’s leadership team in August.

The Pardee RAND Graduate School is the oldest and largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation. It is the only policy school based at a public policy research institute — the RAND Corporation. Its faculty is drawn from more than 1,000 members of RAND’s research staff.