Lowell Milken, international businessman and education reform visionary, is founder of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching and chairman/co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation. In 1985 he created the Milken Educator Awards, the nation's preeminent teacher recognition program. In 2005 he launched NIET which operates the Best Practices Center and TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, offering powerful, sustained opportunities for advancement, professional growth, teacher accountability and competitive compensation. NIET's proven reforms impact 100,000 teachers and a million students. Globally Lowell is co-founder of Knowledge Universe Education Inc., the leader in early childhood education, and chairs London-based Heron International, a worldwide force in property development. A UC Berkeley graduate summa cum laude, he received the Business School's Most Outstanding Student Award. UCLA School of Law, where he earned the Order of the Coif and Law Review, has established the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy.