BusinessReport.com

Full name: Michael Warren Tipton

Title: Executive Director - Teach For America, South Louisiana

Company: Teach For America

Age: 24

Hometown: Baton Rouge

Why do you do what you do?

Children who grow up in low-income areas of the United States, by the time they reach the age of nine, are on average three grade levels behind their higher income peers. Sadly, many of these students live right here in Louisiana. As citizens of the greatest country in the world, with the power to truly offer an excellent education – it is our moral responsibility to provide all our citizens with this opportunity. Teach For America is the national movement to end educational inequity and my work with Teach For America allows me to make our community aware of the scope of this challenge, to bring excellent teachers into classrooms to fix this problem on a daily basis and to galvanize our alumni and community support so that one day all children in Louisiana truly can have an excellent education!

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

As a teacher in the South Bronx I lead my 9th grade American History students at Mott Hall Bronx High School from a 2% passing rate on the American History Regents Exam (the high stakes exam that partially determines graduation in New York) to an 80% passing rate in just one year. That means that over 80 of my students are now on track to go to college when only two began that way.

What was your first job?

Student assistant at the Office of the Chancellor at LSU under Chancellor Mark Emmert, Interim Chancellor William Jenkins and current Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. My work focused largely on LSU’s Flagship Agenda and our national rankings.

What is the best advice you've ever received?

A quote I was given a long time ago: “We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Who do you most admire in the local business community and why?

Our business leaders who are involved in educational reform, ethics reforms and consistently support excellence. They are working to make Baton Rouge community an even better place and consistently inspire me with their spirit of opportunity and desire to positively impact economic, educational and social opportunities within the state.

If you could have any job other than your own, what would it be?

Governor. We have an amazing state and yet there are still plenty opportunities for progress.

What is the greatest personal or professional obstacle you've overcome?

Moving to and working in New York and the South Bronx. I had to live an entirely different pace of life and learn an entire different way of thinking. At the same time I was also working with and learning from students who faced daunting challenges but had amazing potential. This was a huge shift but one that made all the difference in the way I think about possibilities today.

If you started over, what would you do differently?

I would probably stop more often and enjoy life more along the way. I think we all get lost in the little details and challenges of life and we need to think about the work we do, the impact we have and the people we love to realize the true zest of life.

What is your prescription for life?

Find something that matters deeply to you, make it your work and then live fully in the challenge that comes with doing something great.

What book are you currently reading?

First, Break All the Rules

If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be? (Authors? Leaders?)

Barack Obama, Malcolm Gladwell (The author of The Tipping Point) & Bono

Who would play you in a movie?

I honestly have no idea, but I’d like to see who a producer would pick to play me.

What do you do to unwind?

I run in the mornings and enjoy movies and time with friends.

What is the most expensive purchase you've made for yourself?

A house in Baton Rouge

What is your favorite weekend activity?

Watching LSU Football

What's your theme song?

"My Hero" by The Foo Fighters

What's your favorite spot in Baton Rouge?

The LSU Campus on a quiet winter morning.

How do you take your coffee/tea?

Coffee - Black

What is your favorite movie?

Braveheart

TV show?

The West Wing

Band?

U2

What is your favorite gadget?

Currently a BlackBerry although I hear that excitement wears off with time

What is something that you can't live without?

People

If you could change one thing about Baton Rouge, what would it be?

More involvement – we’ve got a wonderful and thriving community and I want everyone to recognize this and be able to participate in it

What is your greatest hope for Baton Rouge?

That we can become a city which ultimately lives up to its ideals of providing truly great educational and life opportunities for all of its citizens.

What is your greatest fear for Baton Rouge?

That our kids, our future citizens will not achieve all that they deserve because we as citizens of Baton Rouge did not do enough to ensure that all children have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.