Six Winners Recognized as Women of Influence in Central Texas
AUSTIN, Texas--Today, the Austin Business Journal named AISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen one of six 2013 Profiles in Power winners.
Carstarphen was selected from among 25 finalists and 69 nominees for the award, which recognizes women who have distinguished themselves as a successful member of top management with a company or organization and have given back to their communities.
At the 19th Annual Austin Business Journal 2013 Profiles in Power-Women of Influence at ACL Live at Moody Theatre, the publication presented its profile of the superintendent:
"You could say that Meria Joel Carstarphen, superintendent of the Austin Independent School District, is Austin's $1 billion woman. As CEO of AISD-a billion-dollar enterprise that encompasses 86,000 students and 11,000 employees-Carstarphen is at the helm of one of Austin's largest organizations.
"Under her leadership, AISD has received multiple awards in educational programming, finance and technology; and in 2013 it achieved the highest campus passing-rate for adequate yearly progress and ranked No. 1 on end-of-course reading, writing and algebra I exams among all other Big 8 urban school districts.
"In addition to her high-profile work with AISD, Carstarphen has served for two years on the board of directors for Ballet Austin, where she starred as Mother Ginger in their rendition of The Nutcracker. Over the years, Carstarphen has been a mentor to many women-including students, staff and colleagues-and has led a variety of teaching and learning workshops. She also mentors with Seedling Foundation, a program that provides mentorship to AISD children with incarcerated parents."
For more information, please visit the Austin Business Journal website.