Jim Warford is a courageous educational leader who did not follow a traditional career path. His unique combination of educational, business and creative experience allows him to translate his vision and passion for school reform into well-executed systemic changes resulting in dramatic increases in student performance. Appointed as Florida's first-ever Chancellor for public schools in 2003 he was responsible for Florida's $16 Billion budget for public schools and focusing every bureau within the Department of Education on the goal of raising student achievement. As Chancellor, he created and implemented Florida's Continuous Improvement Model used by the "Assistance Plus" program, the largest state-intervention in low-performing schools in the nation, which resulted in over 80% of these schools moving off the list of failing schools.