Carmen Fariña is the coauthor, with her longtime collaborator Laura Kotch, of A School Leader’s Guide to Excellence.  They have in-depth experience with helping all schools make the changes they need to achieve excellence. As professional partners they have held numerous roles in the New York City public schools. Most recently, Carmen was the Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning of the New York City Department of Education, while Laura was its Executive Director of Professional Development and Curriculum. Their vast experiences also include tenures as Superintendent and Deputy of District 15 (a thirty-two-school district) and Region 8 (154 schools), Principal and Staff Developer, college instructors, teacher leaders, and classroom teachers. Currently they work with principals to create structures that improve schoolwide teaching and learning.