JANIS SOMERVILLE is the director of the National Association of System Heads (NASH)/Education Trust state P-16 partnership, created to support a network of states where higher education, K-12, and civic leaders are committed to developing coordinated improvement efforts, kindergarten through college. These efforts have a single goal: improving student achievement at all levels and closing historic achievement gaps between students of different racial and economic backgrounds. A native Pennsylvanian, Somerville began her work in education as a high school teacher in Trenton, NJ. She then worked for several years in higher education, including appointments as the senior academic officer for undergraduate education at Temple University and at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1989, she founded the Philadelphia Schools Collaborative, bringing together K-12, college, and community resources in a concerted effort to improve student achievement in the urban comprehensive high schools, particularly for low-income and minority students. In 1994, she developed Maryland’s statewide Partnership for Teaching and Learning K-16, and in 1997 she came to NASH to lead the state P-16 initiative. She received her B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University and M.B.A. from Harvard University.