More than two decades of education research, policy and practices—as well as firsthand visits to thousands of U.S. classrooms and the creation of major national initiatives—have earned Milken Family Foundation Chairman and Co-Founder Lowell Milken the reputation as an education reform leader and pioneer. Guided by Lowell's vision, the Milken Family Foundation has become one of the most innovative private foundations in the U.S., developing groundbreaking programs in K-12 education as well as medical research, and helping to fund more than 1,000 organizations worldwide with compatible missions.

Among his contributions to strengthening K-12 education, Lowell conceived the Milken National Educator Awards, first presented in 1987 to recognize the importance of outstanding educators and to encourage talented young people to choose teaching as a career. With a network of over 2,300 recipients across the United States, the Milken Educator Awards is the nation's largest teacher recognition program.

Recognizing that sufficient numbers of quality teachers would never result from current education practices, Lowell launched the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP)™ in 1999 as a comprehensive research-based strategy to attract, develop, motivate and retain high quality teachers for America's schools. By creating an environment with powerful and sustained opportunities for career advancement, professional growth, teacher accountability, and competitive compensation, TAP™ has expanded to over 180 campuses, impacting more than 5,000 teachers and 60,000 students. Based on TAP's rapid growth, strong results and high demand, in 2005 Lowell established the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) as an independent public charity. Equipped with a diverse staff drawn from education and business, combined with a broad coalition of school practitioners, NIET forges partnerships with schools, government at the local, state and federal levels, corporations and foundations, to ensure TAP's effectiveness and sustainability in its diverse set of urban, rural and suburban schools across the country.

Further education efforts championed by Lowell include Lowell Milken HighTechHigh-Los Angeles, a public charter school that engages students with a rigorous curriculum rich in technology and complemented by real-world internships. Officially dedicated in 2004, HTH-LA achieved California Distinguished School status in record time. Another endeavor is the development and distribution of a multidisciplinary high school curriculum guide to explore The Children of Willesden Lane, a story of courage and coming-of-age during World War II by Grammy-nominated pianist Mona Golabek. The state-of-the-art Milken Community High School is a private Jewish day school based in Los Angeles and known nationally for its college preparatory curriculum.

In 1990, Lowell created the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music to explore the vast panorama of sacred and secular works reflecting 350 years of Jewish life in America. This historic recording project has grown to encompass 600 newly recorded works—500 of them world premiere recordings. Naxos American Classics has released 50 CDs available in over 50 countries. Ongoing projects include a full curriculum and an oral history video collection with more than 800 hours of interviews already concluded.

The new Lowell Milken Center, founded in 2007 in partnership with Milken Educator Norman Conard (KS '92), focuses on galvanizing a movement for teaching respect and understanding among all people regardless of race, religion or creed. The LM Center promotes this mission through educational projects that feature unsung heroes as role models to "repair the world."

Recognition for Lowell's achievements in education has included awards from organizations such as the National Association of State Boards of Education, the Horace Mann League, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Named by Worth magazine as one of America's most generous philanthropists, Lowell is also an involved businessman who chairs London-based Heron International, a worldwide leader in property development, and Knowledge Universe, Inc., a leading company in early childhood education and educational programs and services.

Lowell Milken is a product of California's public school system, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley, where he received the School of Business Administration's Most Outstanding Student Award. He earned his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, with the distinctions of Order of the Coif and UCLA Law Review. His four sons inspire and deepen his commitment to the Milken Family Foundation.