Mayor Villaraigosa has gone back to the Broad Foundation (from where he lured Chief of Staff Robin Kramer) and signed up Marcus Castain to be his Associate Director for Education, Youth and Families. He reports Jan. 3. Here's the relevant quotage:

"Marcus Castain has been working with some of the leading urban public school districts in the country, including Boston, New York, and Chicago, where mayors are driving real change in public schools,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “He brings a deep understanding of best practices in education reform and he will work to ensure that our children and their families have access to a quality public education.”

Full release is hidden after the jump. Google results suggest that Castain is not just accomplished, but a fun guy too.

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA APPOINTS MARCUS CASTAIN
AS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR EDUCATION, YOUTH AND FAMILIES

LOS ANGELES – Building on his commitment to reform Los Angeles’ schools and improve student achievement, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today announced the appointment of Marcus Castain to the position of Associate Director for Education, Youth and Families.

“Marcus Castain has been working with some of the leading urban public school districts in the country, including Boston, New York, and Chicago, where mayors are driving real change in public schools,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “He brings a deep understanding of best practices in education reform and he will work to ensure that our children and their families have access to a quality public education.”

Mr. Castain will join the staff of the Mayor’s office on January 3, 2006.

Mr. Castain is currently an Associate Director at The Broad Foundation, a Los Angeles-based venture philanthropic organization dedicated to dramatically improving K-12 urban public education. Mr. Castain has worked with major urban school districts pursuing systemic educational reform, including Long Beach, Oakland, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, and New York City, strengthening efforts to improve principal and teacher preparation and human resource management. Mr. Castain also headed The Broad Residency in Urban Education, a management development program for emerging leaders from top business and law schools to become managers in urban school districts.

Mr. Castain previously worked in product management for a Cisco Learning Partner and as a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He began his career as an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. Mr. Castain holds a BA in international political economy from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.