I am blessed to serve as a Partner in the Strategos Group where I get the opportunity to drive the work in Business Transaction Advisory: helping Superintendents find the best solutions to accelerate student achievement. Formerly I was the Superintendent of Schools for Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), the nation’s seventh largest school system, where I took office in March 2020. My focus was to actively engage all stakeholders through transparency, establish goal-based management systems, transform instructional practice, and ensure that students’ best interests were at the heart of all decision-making.My heart in education has been focused on transforming schools and working tirelessly to increase student achievement in large urban and mid-size suburban Florida school districts. Before arriving in Hillsborough County, I served as the Superintendent of Schools for Clay County.During my tenure in HCPS, our team made tremendous movement: • Led stability and innovation through COVID;• Stabilized the district’s financial health: overcoming a $150+ million operational deficit;• Improved state academic ranking from 35th to 19th (highest ever in district history);• Significantly reduced historically underperforming schools – 28 “D & F” schools to 5;• Reduced state persistently low performing schools – from 39 to 18;• Increased graduation rate – 87% to 89% (highest ever in district history);• Reboundaried 107 of 250 Schools;• Expanded acceleration - Cambridge AICE Program to 14 high schools in 2022 and 14 more planned for 2023-2024;• Increased all acceleration pass rates – 50 to 57%;• Centralized academic focus with tiered approach to improve academic outcomes;• Expanded dual language programs, launched first ever Montessori Program at Essrig Elementary School, and launched two Spanish immersion programs;• Launched major workforce initiative to include medical and construction academies (first phase);• Expanded mental health and safety initiatives;• Expanded early childhood development; and• Transformed the division of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Clay County School District we demonstrated dramatic improvements across all student academic performance metrics. During this time, Clay’s statewide academic ranking improved from 20th in the state to 7th along with increasing the graduation rate from 84% to 93% over a four-year span; these results also significantly narrowed the achievement gap.