Dean Kline - Senior Managing Director at USC Rossier EdVentures

Dean Kline is the Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of a newer group at USC called Rossier EdVentures, which is an education ecosystem at USC. We talked a fair bit about it and the exciting things they're doing to support innovation across the education landscape.  He’s also Co-Founder and Managing Director for Penn Venture Partners, a VC fund for primarily for early-stage tech companies in business services, edtech, life sciences, media, specialty manufacturing, and workplace learning. He’s been a venture investor for over 20 years and has had IPOs and many other acquisitions among his investments.

Previously he was an executive of an organization which setup children’s hospitals in developing countries. Dean was also Assistant to the Executive Director at the World Bank, focusing on project quality, education and health sector policy, Africa, and Asia. He began his professional career as an International Economist at the U.S. Treasury Department.  He has led several efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly as it relates to learning; and he’s been a lecturer at several universities as well.

Dean and I met last year shortly after he relocated out here from the East Coast, and he’s spending a fair bit of his time in Orange County.  I know he’s found some interesting Education Technology or EdTech startups down here, too, which we discussed.  And he believes Orange County has a lot going for it to be a world leader in education innovation going forward as well.