Carrie Heath Phillips leads NWEA’s School Improvement services, which foster continuous improvement in systems through building school and district leader capacity. Prior to NWEA, Carrie advanced student outcomes through partnering with state and national policymakers and practitioners on teaching, learning, and systems change. At the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), she most recently directed the national organization’s support to state education agencies on student transitions, including early childhood, personalized learning, social and emotional learning, and college- and career-readiness. She also launched CCSSO’s support to states on school improvement upon passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and authored principles for school improvement adopted by states across the country. She began her career in education as a fourth- and fifth-grade classroom teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social policy and a master’s degree in education from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.