Renford Reese received his Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning, and Development. He conducted his dissertation research at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva, Switzerland. He received his Master's degree in public policy from the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies and his Bachelor's degree in political science from Vanderbilt University. His mother was his high school principal and his father is the late pioneer journalist, Earnest Reese. Dr. Reese has been a professor in the political science department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona for 21 years. He has traveled to 100 countries and is the faculty coordinator of several Study Abroad programs at Cal Poly Pomona. He is a regular guest columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News and the author of nine books. He is also the author of the Starbucks "The Way I See It" Quote #294. In 2009, Reese was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholars Award and lectured in the American Studies program at the University of Hong Kong. He was featured on ESPN's "Realizing the Dream" series and appears as a commentator on the Biography Channel's mini-bios on Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson. He is the founder of the Prison Education Project, the Reintegration Academy for Parolees, and the Colorful Flags program. He was the recipient of the George P. Hart "Faculty of the Year" award at Cal Poly Pomona and the Haynes Foundation Faculty Fellowship. Reese has been a Visiting Scholar at various institutions over the years.