Equitable representation within a school occurs when the principals, teachers, or other school-based leaders reflect the racial and cultural diversity of the local communities they serve. When students of color, who have historically been underestimated and underserved in our nation's schools, see themselves in the teachers and leaders at their school, they imagine bigger and bolder dreams for themselves. Yet, gaps in representation exist in school systems across the country. Forty percent of our nation's schools do not have any teachers of color. While the population of teachers in public schools in the US has grown slightly more diverse in recent decades, most teachers still identify as white. This gap also extends into school and district leadership. In the nation's schools, where more than half of the student population identifies as students of color, only 22 percent of the nation's principals identify as leaders of color : 11 percent African American, nine percent Latinx, two percent Asian American and other race/ethnicity. Eight percent of superintendents identify as leaders of color. This paper argues by diversifying teacher and school leader pipelines, more students would be empowered to realize their futures. This is the first in a series of papers on reshaping educational leadership for the future.