Socorro Shiels is the Assistant Superintendent, Achievement, Innovation, and Continuous Improvement at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. She is responsible for implementing and managing an improvement model aligned to the district's priorities. Previously, Shiels was the superintendent of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, and the director of education at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. She built community support for public education while superintendent of the Santa Rosa City School District. Shiels has also taught at the University of California, Davis; the University of San Francisco; and California State University, Sacramento. She is a proud member of CALSA.