John O’Brien is the Director of K-12 Strategic Partnerships for the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University (ASU). He serves as liaison to and fosters strong partnerships with school districts, charter, and private schools. John has served students and families for over 30 years in education and is a retired superintendent of schools. His time as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, secondary director, and principal allow him to understand the unique challenges and opportunities present in the school and district setting. His goal is to ensure that ASU teacher candidates graduate ready to thrive as beginning educators and to help ASU partner schools and districts have access to a rich pipeline of early career classroom teachers and future instructional leaders.