Chris Meek

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Not to be confused with Kris Meeke.
Chris Meek
Chris Meek at a SoldierSocks fundraising event in 2014
Alma materSyracuse University (BA)
Pace University (MBA)
Political partyRepublican
Children3

Christopher Meek is an American philanthropist and finance executive and author.[1] Meek is the co-founder and chairman of SoldierStrong, a charitable organization which provides support for U.S. service members and veterans. He is also the co-founder and chairman of START Now!, a non-profit which provides foreclosure counseling to homeowners. He is also the managing director of global relationship management at S&P Global and a member of the Maxwell School Advisory Board at Syracuse University.[2]

Education and career[edit]

In 1992, Meek graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He has a Master of Business Administration degree from Pace University.[3]

Meek was an equity derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs for 16 years before stepping down as a vice president in the securities division in August 2011.[4][5][6] As of 2023, he is the managing director of global relationship management at S&P Global.[2]

Philanthropy[edit]

Chris Meek (right) receiving the 2014 Syracuse University Orange Circle Award for his philanthropic work from Chancellor Kent Syverud; April 2, 2014.

In April 2009, Meek held a mortgage modification event for homeowners and lenders at a Stamford, Connecticut community center.[7] The event led to the founding of the foreclosure counseling non-profit START Now!.[6] According to Meek, from April 2009 to March 2011, it has helped prevent foreclosures on 250 properties.[5]

Meek also founded Soldier Socks in 2009 after a conversation with a former U.S. Marine about the lack of basic necessities, such as socks and baby wipes, available to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.[8] By 2013, Soldier Socks had sent 73,000 pounds of hygiene items, and founded the Soldier Socks Veterans Grant Foundation.[9] In 2013, the organization changed its name to SoldierStrong and shifted efforts to meet the needs of returning service members. It provides medical technologies to Veterans Affairs medical facilities and individual veterans in the country. It partnered with Ekso Bionics, the manufacturers of robotic exoskeletons to give paralyzed veterans the ability to walk again.[10] As of December 2023, SoldierStrong has donated 30 exoskeleton suits to VA hospitals and injured veterans.[11]

Through his organization, Meek provides the BraveMind virtual reality system, used to treat veterans living with PTS. The technology is developed by the USC's Institute for Creative Technologies.[12]

Meek also provides academic scholarships through the SoldierScholar program at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and at Old Dominion University.[8][13][14][15]

In 2014, he received the Syracuse University’s Orange Circle Award for his philanthropic work.[16]

On May 22, 2018, Meek testified in front of the U.S. House Subcommittees on Research and Technology and Energy on the topic of empowering U.S. veterans through technology.[17]

Politics[edit]

In the summer of 2010, Meek was appointed to the Stamford Urban Redevelopment Commission.[6] On November 17, 2011, Meek formally announced his candidacy to represent Connecticut's 4th congressional district.[18] He ended his campaign on May 26, 2012, a week after he got 27% of the vote in the Republican state convention.[19] He has not been a candidate for public office since that time.

Books[edit]

Meek is the author of the book Next Steps Forward: Beyond Remembering (ISBN 979-8986020808) which was published in May 2022. He has also contributed to the book, Voices Against Trafficking: The Strength of Many Voices Speaking As One (ISBN 978-1733360524) which was published in December 2021.[20]

Personal life[edit]

Meek is married with three children.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Keating, Susan (February 9, 2017). "Meet the Man Helping Paralyzed Veterans Stand, One Robotic Skeleton at a Time". People. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Maxwell Advisory Board". Syracuse University. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "Meek, Chris". The Maxwell School of Syracuse University. November 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Class Notes". Syracuse University Magazine. Vol. 32, no. 3. Fall–Winter 2009. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Varnon, Rob (March 22, 2011). "Goldman Sachs' exec brings foreclosure counseling show to Bridgeport". The Stamford Advocate. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Kim, Elizabeth (November 18, 2011). "Activist starts 4th District campaign". The News-Times. Hearst Newspapers.
  7. ^ Quinn, James (April 17, 2009). "US clutches at straws of recovery". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Wilson, Korey (July 3, 2013). "Stamford's founder of Soldier Socks helps troops in need". The Norwalk Hour. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "Vineyard Vines helps Soldier Socks expand". Greenwich Post. Hersam Acorn Newspapers. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "Bionic Suit Could Help Paralyzed Soldiers Walk Again". Fox News. 13 June 2013.
  11. ^ SoldierStrong (December 18, 2020). "VA New Orleans Receives Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Exoskeleton From National Nonprofit SoldierStrong". Globe Newswire.
  12. ^ "Life After Service: StrongMind technology to treat Veterans with PTSD". VA News. 6 March 2020.
  13. ^ Blair, R. (June 13, 2013). "Bionic Suit Could Help Paralyzed Soldiers Walk Again". FOX 61. Tegna. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  14. ^ "Stories From Main Street: Stamford-Based Charity Tries To Help Paralyzed Vets Walk Again". CBS. June 24, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Pottle, Justin (October 10, 2013). "The Ekso makes its Greenwich debut". Greenwich Time. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  16. ^ Rodoski, Kelly Homan (27 March 2014). "Orange Circle Awards to Be Presented April 2". SU News.
  17. ^ "Empowering U.S. Veterans Through Technology". science.house.gov. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  18. ^ Altimari, Daniela (November 17, 2011). "Republican Chris Meek Formally Announces His Run for Congress in CT-4". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Vigdor, Neil (May 26, 2012). "Obsitnik won't face primary for GOP House nod". CT Insider. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  20. ^ Voices Against Trafficking - Table of Contents. ISBN 1733360522.
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