Harry P. Pachon, Ph.D. is a professor of Public Policy at USC and joined the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) in 1993, as president.  In 1997, Dr. Pachon was appointed to serve as a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Additionally, saluting his ongoing work on behalf of Mexicans living in the United States, the Mexican Government presented Dr. Pachon with the Ohtli (humanitarian) Award.  He is a board member of the Haynes Foundation and Southern California Public Radio.

Dr. Pachon is a founding board member and past executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund.  While at NALEO, he initiated a nationally acclaimed U.S. citizenship project that has been replicated on a multi-ethnic basis across the country and initiated the National Directory of Latino Elected Officials, which is now in its seventeenth year of publication. Dr. Pachon has authored over twenty articles and journals, and co-authored three books on U.S. Latino politics and political behavior.  He has held academic positions at Michigan State University; Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles; City University of New York and held the Kenan All Campus Chair at the Claremont Colleges.  He is currently a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California in the School of Policy, Planning and Development.

Dr. Pachon received his B.A. and M.A. in political science at California State University of Los Angeles, and earned his Ph.D. in government from the Claremont Graduate School. He has been awarded post-doctoral fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Association of Schools for Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).