New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed Meisha Porter as the next New York City Schools chancellor as current Chancellor Richard Carranza is set to leave the post.

Carranza made the announcement Friday, after serving three years as chancellor. Porter, who is the current NYC Department of Education executive superintendent for the Bronx, is set to take over on March 15.

But who is Meisha Porter?

According to the Department of Education, Porter is a New York City public school graduate and has 20 years experience including roles at every level in the system. She is the first Black woman to serve in the role.

“As a lifelong New Yorker, a product of our City’s public schools, and a career educator, it is the honor of my lifetime to serve as Chancellor,” said incoming Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter. “Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza have laid an incredible foundation for me and I am ready to hit the ground running and lead New York City schools to a full recovery.”

Porter started her career as a youth organizer in Highbridge and joined the DOE as a teacher at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice. This is a school she helped conceive and found. Eventually she became principal of the school, and after 18 years, she moved on to superintendent of District 11, which serves the Pelham Parkway, Eastchester and Woodlawn neighborhoods. She served in this role for three years.

In 2018, she started her current role as Bronx executive superintendent, where she leads community school districts 7-12 and New Visions Affinity schools covering the entire borough’s 361 schools. During her tenure, she has overseen the largest gains in graduation rates of any borough. In her time in the role, there has also been a substantial increase in postsecondary enrollment in the Bronx.

Porter has also taught as an adjunct professor at CUNY, and has been a Columbia University Cahn fellow, an Aspen Institute fellow, and a member of the Harvard University National Institute for Urban School Leaders and the Fordham University – Carnegie Foundation iLead team. Ross-Porter has also received the National Association of Negro Women Sojourner Truth Award, a Mercy College honorary degree and multiple state and local recognitions.

Porter was born in Queens and comes from a family of educators. She was raised by a single mother, who returned to school to finish her degree to become an educator.

Moving into her new role as chancellor, de Blasio says Porter will build on the “tremendous accomplishments of Chancellor Carranaza." Some of those accomplishments include leading the school system through the pandemic, propelling continued growth in academic achievement, continued dismantling of segregation and promoting equality in schools, as well as making mental health and social emotional learning a priority.

“We have successfully partnered with Meisha Ross Porter on projects in the past, including the Bronx Plan and expanding community schools. We look forward to working with her in the future,” says United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.