Dr. Brenda Mitchell is president of the United Teachers of New Orleans. She was raised in the city of New Orleans and has called New Orleans her home for over fifty years. She is a graduate of the New Orleans public schools. Dr. Mitchell received her undergraduate degree from Southern University of New Orleans, her Masters +30 from the University of New Orleans, and doctorate degree in developmental education with a specialization in instructional systems from Grambling State University. Dr. Mitchell began her teaching career in 1968. She has served in many capacities in the New Orleans Public schools - elementary school teacher, Title I staff developer, and a Title I math and reading teacher. She was the founding director of both the New Orleans Teacher Center and the United Teachers of New Orleans Center for Professional Growth and Development. In 1999, she was elected president of the United Teachers of New Orleans. She brings to this position a commitment to teachers' professional development and highlights the necessary role that teachers must play in the reform of city schools Dr. Linda Stelly works as the Associate Director for Educational Issues for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in Washington, D.C. Her role includes coordination of the AFT's Redesigning Schools to Raise Achievement Project. Stelly has facilitated leadership and results-based reform solutions, designing communications strategies for administrators and decision makers in local and national institutions. She has coordinated research initiatives in the areas of local and national policy development and strategic planning. She has developed proven practice leadership strategies for accountability and effective teaching behaviors from a multicultural perspective. A graduate of Dillard and Plight of the Education System Interview Loyola Universities, she is a resident of the New Orleans community and serves on the mayor's advisory committee for education. (By publisher).