Dr. Meria Joel Carstarphen is Superintendent of the Austin Independent School District, an urban public school district with an annual budget of $974 million, 12,000 employees, and 86,000 pre-K-12 students in 120 schools. Prior to this position, Dr. Carstarphen served as the superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and in accountability positions for public school systems in the District of Columbia, Kingsport, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Carstarphen's professional experience includes teaching at the middle school level, as well as elementary education in Seville, Spain, and Caracas, Venezuela.

She earned a doctorate in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy with a concentration in urban superintendency from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Carstarphen earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and Spanish from Tulane University, and master of education degrees from Auburn University and Harvard University. She has also studied at the University of Seville, Spain, and University of Innsbruck, Austria. A public school graduate, Dr. Carstarphen hails from Selma, Alabama, where she began her teaching career.

Dr. Carstarphen currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty member in the University of Texas Department of Educational Administration; and on the boards of the Council of Great City Schools, Educational Testing Service, Austin Partners in Education, AISD Public Education Foundation, Texas Council of Urban School Districts, and the Children's Hospital/AISD Health Service Advisory Board; is a student mentor through Austin Partners in Education; and is an Ex-Officio member of the Austin Symphony Board of Directors, and a member of the Ballet Austin Board of Directors. She also serves in advisory and committee roles for the Urban Superintendents Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.