CHRIS MEYER, 32
Founder & CEO, New Schools for Baton Rouge
Chris Meyer has been involved in local education reform for much of his professional life. With Teach For America in New Orleans, he taught high school and coached basketball. After Hurricane Katrina, he led more than 200 students who had evacuated to achieve significant academic gains. He led the Recovery School District’s Office of Portfolio and served as a special adviser to former state Superintendent Paul Pastorek. These days, he heads up the community partnership with a mission of ensuring all children in the community have access to a first-class education.
Inspiring book: William Wilberforce: A Hero For Humanity
This biography of a British parliamentarian details his struggle to change hearts and minds to abolish slavery in the British empire. He ultimately succeeded. I am always drawn to individuals who want to tackle big, audacious goals and work tirelessly to overcome them.
Major professional accomplishments: White House Fellow, 2008-2009
Volunteer and community involvement: YMCA sports coach
PROFESSIONAL
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A truck driver, like my dad; then I went on my first road trip with him out west and decided I’d rather be a doctor, lawyer, or governor.
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? In high school I was a manager at Putt Putt Golf and Games in Shreveport. I learned how to manage chaos–six simultaneous birthdays on a Saturday morning, broken down go-karts, and saving an employee trapped in a batting cage will teach patience and ingenuity, all the while reminding you to have fun.
What is your favorite place for a business lunch in Baton Rouge? Pasttime
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Fatherhood
The old saying goes, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Specifically, what are you “being” to make Baton Rouge better? I want to rally others to demand excellent schools by any means necessary. I work every day to recruit and develop as many new school options as possible so long as there is a demand for better quality and greater diversity in schools.
What ritual do you do to get pumped up before a big meeting, presentation or pitch? Pound 3 altoids, a diet coke and blast a Jay-Z record.
What has been the most fulfilling moment in your career so far? When I served as a White House Fellow for Secretary Gates at the Department of Defense, I had several occasions to visit troops in combat zones. Being able to thank them in person and hear their hopes and cares while they served on the front lines made me only want to do more to serve my community, state, and country. These experiences continue to inspire me and put my work in perspective.
What was your professional aha moment? First day teaching high school in New Orleans pre-Katrina understanding the reality of what my students and families faced outside of school and how ill-prepared and dysfunctional our school and school system was to help address and overcome these challenges. I realized quickly that while many of us teachers and administrators were good intentioned, the top-down one-sized-fits-all structures of the school system, absence of performance incentives, and lack of mission alignment doomed our ability as a school to make a transformative impact on any more than a handful of students.
How many times will you try something before admitting it doesn’t work? Depends on the goal. If the goal is clear and right, then I’ll find any way to accomplish it including changing strategies and tactics.
What is your best productivity hack? We reserve Tuesdays for internal strategy meetings and check-ins. We use the rest of the week to move the work forward.
What did you learn the hard way? That despite best intentions and efforts, some times bad outcomes still occur. I had a student pre-Katrina who was one of my favorites despite enormous challenges and ever growing rap sheet in school and with the NOPD. He wanted to do well and would make extra effort to take my offers of tutoring and even opportunities to play on my basketball team so I could mentor him and provide a different peer group. He struggled, though, to distance himself from negative influencers at school and in his neighborhood, ultimately being convicted as an accessory to a quadruple homicide committed by his brother and others just after the storm.
What does your job entail that would shock customers or clients if they knew about it? Maybe not shocking to others but to me I’ve been surprised by how disciplined I must be with the basic message about who we are and what we do and then spreading that message to as many folks as possible.
TECHNOLOGY
Mac or PC? Mac
What’s your preferred mode of communication: text or phone call? Phone call
How low will you allow your remaining battery life to get (in %) before you have an anxiety attack? No attack–just recharge it.
How many unread messages are in your inbox right now? 0
What app gets you through the day? ESPN and WSJ
Are you quick to adapt to new tech, or did you hang on to that flip phone way after it became obsolete? I’m not waiting in line, but will typically upgrade soon after.
PERSONALITY
How many times do you hit the snooze button? You don’t need an alarm with two kids under 3!
Breakfast at home? Breakfast on the go? Breakfast at your desk? No breakfast at all? Breakfast at home with my oldest son each day–oatmeal, turkey bacon, toast, and OJ.
Is the glass half empty or half full? What’s in the glass? Always half full; depends on time of day … is it 5 o’clock yet?!
If you could build a statue downtown, who or what would it represent? Representation of a gumbo pot filled with musical instruments, seafood and other resources our state produces–basically a representation of the great diversity, cultures, and resources of our state.
What’s your motto? Carpe diem.
When did you realize you had grown up? When my dad lost his job while I was in high school and I had to work to help pay the bills.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? Abraham Lincoln
Which living person do you most admire? Robert Gates
What is your greatest extravagance? Home sound/theater system.
What trend do you really wish would come back? Handwritten letters
If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why? 19–an age of newfound freedom, idealism and naivety at the same time, endless opportunity.
What is your favorite journey? Football road trips with friends from my childhood.
On what occasion do you lie? When a home cooked meal by a friend or relative doesn’t turn out so well but I rave about it anyway.
What is your greatest regret? I didn’t travel more when younger, when responsibilities were so much less and time so much more.
When and where were you happiest? I’m happiest with my family on the South Carolina shore for our annual beach trip.
Which talent or superpower would you most like to have and why? Ability to fly–it would represent endless freedom and just be so cool.
If you worked for the CIA and needed a top-secret alias, what would yours be? Nonprofit CEO.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? The ability to sing (well).
What’s your most treasured possession? My great grandfather’s wedding ring. It was self-made and has been passed down.
If you could live anywhere on this planet and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose to live and why? Italy–a country villa in Tuscany and another on the coast near Naples; great food and drink, beautiful language, and a balance of life that would be easy to get used to.
What do you most value in your friends? Authenticity.
What do you miss most about the ’90s? No cell phones
If you had to be a teacher of something, what would you teach? I was and I would continue to teach American and Louisiana history.
What is your theme song? “Thriller” by Michael Jackson with poorly performed moves.
Who would play you in a movie? Vince Vaughn. Hopefully, the film wouldn’t be too serious, include my friends, and make people laugh
If you could go back in time 20 years, what advice would you give yourself? Invest now in Apple
What makes you laugh every time you think about it? The night we filmed a video for a school pep rally where a high school buddy dressed as superman and attacked a giant, inflatable Michelin Man in front of a local Super Walmart. We made some not so smart decisions as teenagers, but the video turned out to be a hit.
Who’s the most famous celebrity you’ve ever met? The Governator: Arnold Schwarzenegger
LOOKING AHEAD
What’s the next challenge you have planned? Developing a citywide strategy that ensures there is an excellent school in every neighborhood.
Three things on your bucket list: Take a flight into space, go on a Hemingway African safari and run for a political office.
If you have children, what concerns you most about the future they will inherit? I fear my two boys could inherit a world where the entrepreneurship and leadership of America to develop big ideas and tackle bigger challenges is no longer supreme.
What would be your advice for future Forty Under 40 honorees? Don’t take yourself too seriously. Love what you do and have fun doing it.
Do you plan to be in the Capital Region five years from now? Yes. I want to finish our initial goal at New Schools for Baton Rouge in providing at least 12,000 students living in North Baton Rouge with access to proven, high performing school options.
Why have you chosen to make your home in the Capital Region? It is the crossroads of Louisiana, infusing and connecting all the flavors, cultures, and traditions of our great state while poised to harness enormous civic- and business-sector leadership and energy to dramatically improve our city and opportunities for its people.
Have you peaked, or do you think you’ll still have it when we launch our hypothetical “Forty Over 40” awards years from now? I hope this is just the beginning of trying to improve my community and state. At least that’s how I feel about my golf game–with doggedness and a little luck, something special is bound to happen.
