Diane P. Zimmerman

Diane P. Zimmerman, PhD, recently retired as a superintendent of schools, after a 36-year career in public education. Diane is a writer and consultant focusing on building human capacity. She is a skilled Cognitive Coach with expertise in facilitation, conflict management, and leadership development. Diane has coauthored two books with Art Costa and Robert Garmston and is a coauthor of The Constructivist Leader (1995, 2002). She has written a wide variety of articles and chapters about communication, leadership development, and school change, and her journal articles regularly appear in the Journal of Staff Development. In 1998 she obtained her PhD in human and organizational development from the Fielding Graduate Institute. She has taught college courses at Sacramento State University and Sonoma State University.

Throughout her career, Diane has been involved in handling divergent opinions and mediating conflict. She has proven she can work with staff and community to develop creative talents. In her years as a principal and superintendent she invested in staff by fostering talents and leadership capacity. She takes great pride in being part of communities that not only work well together, but also seek challenges as an opportunity for learning and knowledge development. Diane lives in Suisun Valley, California, with her husband, Rich Zimmerman.