Kelly Garrett is Executive Director of KIPP St. Louis, a high performing charter management organization with plans to serve 3,300 students in grades K-12 on their mountain climb to and through college. KIPP St. Louis is part of the national Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP). Prior to joining KIPP, Kelly served as executive director of the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, where he helped grow the foundation’s giving by a factor of 20, and led a strategic initiative focusing on school leadership, early childhood education and project based learning. Kelly’s education career began as a 1992 Teach For America corps member in Houston. After three years in the classroom, Kelly co-founded Project Chrysalis Charter Middle School, which quickly became one the highest-performing middle schools in Texas. Kelly went on to found Perea Preschool in Memphis TN, and several years later served as director of business development for KC Distance Learning, a virtual charter high school program. He holds a BA from Rhodes College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a Pahara Fellow. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and two sons.