Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, has nearly 20 years of experience in educational leadership, primarily in urban school districts. Her previous roles included superintendent in Austin, Texas, from 2009 to 2014 and administrator in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. She serves as a commissioner and distinguished educator on the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, hosted by the Aspen Institute. In this interview, Carstarphen talks about: making social and emotional learning (SEL) a priority in her work as superintendent in Atlanta and previously in Austin, how she communicates to staff that SEL is an important part of their work, how district leaders build a team approach to SEL across the district, and what changes she is seeing as a result of her SEL efforts.