This article presents an interview with Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), Texas's largest district. Before taking this post, he had been a principal or superintendent for most of three decades and remains a reformer five years into his leadership. Grier has maintained his passion for improving schools throughout this career, noting "I've learned through my career that perseverance is a big part of leadership." Grier's focus in Houston, San Diego, and other districts has been on such goals as improving classroom instruction, aiming initiatives at likely dropouts, and getting more minority students to take Advanced Placement exams. Principal and teacher development have been a big focus with a leadership academy, where principals receive instruction from experts in both the business and education worlds and an evaluation system that provides information to personalize teacher development and to create partnerships between teachers. Grier's career has been that of a journeyman, who has persevered, and ended up achieving in the largest district in America's second-most-populous state. The article includes additional details from the interview.