Avis Williams, EdD, is the superintendent of NOLA Public Schools, the first woman to serve permanently in the role. She has been an elementary, middle, and high school principal; the executive director of curriculum and instruction in North Carolina; an assistant superintendent in Tuscaloosa City (Alabama) Schools; and the superintendent of Selma City (Alabama) Schools. A past president of the ASCD Board of Directors, Williams was a finalist for Alabama Superintendent of the Year, was named a National School Public Relations Association Superintendent to Watch, and received the University of Alabama’s Dr. Harold Bishop Leadership Award and the AASA Dr. Effie Jones Humanitarian Award.