Meisha Ross Porter (; born February 7, 1974) is an American educator who served as the

New York City Schools Chancellor The New York City Schools Chancellor (formally "Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education") is the head of the New York City Department of Education. The Chancellor is appointed by the Mayor of New York City, Mayor, and serves at th ...

in 2021.

Biography

Meisha Ross Porter was born in Far Rockaway and raised in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

. She graduated from Queens Vocational and Technical High School before enrolling in

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. Porter received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English, concentrating in Cross Cultural Literature and Black and Puerto Rican Studies. She started her career as a youth organizer in the Bronx. She was involved with the foundation of the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice (BLGJ). She worked at BLGJ for a total of 18 years, variously as a community associate, a teacher, an assistant principal, and ultimately as the principal. Ross Porter was appointed Superintendent of District 11 in 2015, where she served for less than three years. District 11 includes neighborhoods that span the Northeast Bronx. In 2018, she was appointed Bronx Executive Superintendent, overseeing 361 schools with 235,000 students in that borough. New York City Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...

announced that Porter was his pick for schools chancellor on February 26, 2021. The then chancellor, Richard Carranza, was stepping down. Porter is New York City's first Black woman chancellor. Ross Porter has continued her education through her career. She received her Master’s Degree in Administration and Supervision from Mercy College and completed her School District Leader certification through the NYC Advanced Leadership Institute (Center for Integrated Teacher Education - CITE). She is currently pursuing a doctorate in education at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. A recipient of the National Association of Negro Women’s Sojourner Truth Award, Porter has been a Columbia University Cahn fellow and an

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

fellow. She has taught at CUNY as an adjunct professor and participated in the Harvard University National Institute for Urban School Leaders and is a member of the Fordham University – Carnegie Foundation iLead team.

References

1974 births Living people New York City School Chancellors Fordham University alumni African-American educators {{US-edu-bio-stub