Misty Her is named Fresno Unified superintendent. ‘We must do things differently’
Fresno Unified trustees selected interim Superintendent Misty Her as the full-time leader, making her the first woman to lead the state’s third-largest district since its inception in 1873.
The historic Wednesday evening announcement by the school board concluded a tumultuous 15-month search for a new leader after Bob Nelson, the former superintendent, announced his retirement in January 2024.
The board voted, 6-1, in closed session to select Her as the next superintendent, and will approve a superintendent contract at its April 30 meeting. Trustee Susan Wittrup cast the “no” vote.
Her has worked in Fresno Unified for more than 30 years as a bilingual instructional aide, elementary teacher, vice principal, principal, assistant superintendent and instructional superintendent. She was named a deputy superintendent in March 2021 and took over as interim leader of the district in May 2024.
Her assumes the role of full-time superintendent as the school district faces low student test scores, yawning student achievement gaps and pandemic learning loss. She vowed to focus on improving early literacy rates, closing achievement gaps and increasing the percentage of high-school graduates deemed college- and career-ready.
“Let me be very, very clear, if we want different outcomes for our students, we must do things differently,” Her said. “We must stay laser focused. We must align our initiatives, our actions and our energy behind our goals, and we must hold ourselves accountable.”
Some Hmong parents and community members spoke in support of Her’s appointment at Wednesday’s school board meeting, and urged trustees to remove the interim label.
In prepared remarks, Her said she would aim to display “leadership that builds bridges, not walls” and prioritize students’ learning. Her said the lengthy search process took a toll on her family as she received racist and sexist threats after publicly disclosing she applied for the permanent position.
“I ask you that we move forward together with courage, with clarity and with compassion, and let’s build a Fresno Unified where every student achieves their greatest potential,” Her said. “I am honored to accept this role as the permanent superintendent.”
Still, the school board’s search process was not without controversy. Trustees initially sought to select a full-time leader last May, but delayed their pick by a year following public criticism over trustees’ plan to limit their search to internal candidates only.
The school board expanded to a national search and interviewed candidates behind closed doors earlier this month.
Board President Valerie Davis defended the school board’s selection process as “rigorous, thorough and transparent.”
“We know we have selected the most qualified, experienced, visionary leader to take Fresno Unified to the next era — Mao Misty Her,” Davis said. “She knows what we need in our community, she has a proven track record with 10,000 employees and leading with her heart, her courage and listening for what’s said and not said, and with an unwavering belief that everything is possible in every child.”
A 15-month search
Following Nelson’s retirement announcement, Fresno Unified launched a search for his successor by holding a series of community listening sessions and spending $40,000 to hire a search firm.
In March 2024, the board decided on a 4-3 closed-session vote to limit its superintendent search to internal applicants, a move that garnered widespread criticism. Trustee Susan Wittrup, the board president at the time, petitioned for a wider search, and more than a hundred parents and community members protested at the district’s downtown headquarters on the eve of the scheduled internal interviews, demanding transparency in the search process. The board canceled the interviews.
That same night, the headhunter withdrew from Fresno Unified, citing the search was “compromised.”
The board appointed Her as interim superintendent last May, and vowed to restart its search to include outside candidates.
Last May, the board spent $100,000 to hire a coach to address frequent infighting among board members.
In February 2025, Fresno Unified spent $34,500 to hire another headhunter firm, McPherson & Jacobson, LLC, to conduct a nationwide search.
That search was done mostly behind closed doors — a move that drew criticism from the Fresno Teachers Association and community members for lack of transparency and public input.
Manuel Bonilla, president the teachers union, told board trustees Wednesday, before they entered closed session, that most rank-and-file members “have lost a significant amount of trust in you.”
“I want to be clear, it’s not because of the person you chose, but because of the process that you led,” Bonilla said.
Bonilla accused the board of ignoring an offer by the union to pay and host a public forum of candidates for the position.
Earlier this month, the board held closed-door interviews with several candidates. The district didn’t reveal the names of the other candidates who interviewed with trustees, and argued that a public interview process would have deterred some candidates from applying.
A community advisory panel, whose members were picked by trustees, also participated in the candidate interviews.
The panel was set up as “an additional opportunity to appropriately gain insight from various members of the community,” said Ben Johnson II, a consultant from the search firm.
Johnson declined to share who served on the advisory panel.
“The panel only provided areas of strength and potential areas of opportunity of the candidates,” he said. “There is zero ranking. The panel’s feedback is consensus.”
Nikki Henry, Fresno Unified’s spokesperson, said all trustees and panel members signed non-disclosure agreements to preserve the confidentiality of the candidates and the interviews.
“This confidentiality was critical to ensuring the strongest possible candidate pool,” Henry said. “Many high-level leaders might not have applied if there had been a public interview process prior to finalist selection, given the potential risk to their current roles, teams, and communities.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 6:20 PM.
