Carmen Fariña

In March 2018, after Alberto M. Carvalho publicly turned down the job, Mayor de Blasio announced Richard Carranza would succeed Fariña as the next chancellor, with Fariña departing at the end of April.

The New York Post condemned Farina in 2017 for restoring levels of bureaucracy that her predecessor, Joel Klein, under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had eliminated, and for presiding over "diploma mills", referring to her "proudest achievement, boosting city high-school graduation rates to 72 percent" as "hollow" as "only 37 percent of those [high school] 'graduates' are ready for college."

Fariña was roundly criticized by New York media for a February 13, 2014 press conference alongside Mayor Bill de Blasio during a snowstorm, in which she stated, on a day which produced 10 inches of snow, "It's absolutely a beautiful day out here." Total snowfall for the storm was 13 inches in Manhattan; local schools remained open during the snow event.

Fariña had been a teacher, principal, superintendent, and the Deputy Chancellor of Teaching and Learning from 2004 to 2006. In December 2017, Farina announced she would leave her position after a replacement was named. She finished her term alongside the new Chancellor, Richard Carranza.

During this time, she was also an adjunct professor at Bank Street College: P.S. 6 served as a model site for prospective principals, hosting more than 500 visitors a year. She left P.S. 6 in 2001 after being elected community superintendent of Brooklyn's District 15. She later served as superintendent of Region 8. From 2004 to 2006, Fariña served as Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the New York City Department of Education, where she invested $40 million to expand programs for middle school students, including Saturday classes, organizational and study skills workshops, and parent counseling. She also improved services for students with disabilities. In the summer of 2014, she announced her support of "balanced literacy", an English curriculum that emphasizes free reading and writing at the expense of teacher-led instruction.

From 1991 to 2001, Fariña served as principal of P.S. 6, replacing 80% of the staff there. Under her leadership, that school's ranking among public elementary schools on the citywide reading test rose from 76th to fourth from 1988 to 1997, with 91.8 percent of students classified as reading at grade level.

Carmen Guillén married Antonio Fariña Jr., an accountant, in 1965, in New York City. They have two daughters.

Carmen Fariña (née Guillén; born April 5, 1943) is a former New York City Schools Chancellor and head of the New York City Department of Education. Announced by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on December 30, 2013, she was the first New York City chancellor to have had schools supervision training and experience since Board of Education chancellor Rudy Crew.