Dr. Olga Magdalena Lazin

Dr. Olga Magdalena Lazin is a historian who has spent more than forty years studying one big idea: how everyday people can change their countries. She teaches and researches at UCLA with PROFMEX, a worldwide network of 88 universities, and she has served as its Vice President for over four decades.

Her books compare places as different as the United States, Mexico, Romania, Eastern Europe, and Latin America — always asking the same clear question: what makes civil society work, and what happens when governments grow too strong? She writes so that students, not just scholars, can understand the answers.

Beyond her own writing, she runs Dr. Olga Book Publishing in Los Angeles, helping new authors publish their books in print and digital formats. She is also a popular speaker and life coach, and she has trained thousands of students to become engaged, active citizens.