Chris Minnich

Chris Minnich is the chief executive officer of NWEA. Before joining NWEA in January 2018, Chris held several key leadership roles in the education industry.

At NWEA, he has led a transformation of the business toward being a services and assessment organization. The focus on student outcomes has led the business to be much closer to the classroom and has driven value for partners of NWEA.

Prior to that, Chris successfully served as the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). He became executive director in 2012 and led the organization in a direction to ensure all students in the public education system—regardless of background—graduated prepared for college, careers, and life. A critical part of his role was working with states to upgrade their standards and assessments, transform educator preparation programs, design new approaches to teaching and learning, and implement and sustain promising reforms across the country. He directed the organization during its involvement in the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.

From 2005–2008, Chris held multiple positions at Harcourt, all of which focused on the advancement and improvement of assessments. At Harcourt, he focused on helping teachers use assessment data and become assessment literate, in addition to assisting states as they rolled out their online assessment products to put data in the hands of teachers faster.

Before joining Harcourt, he served as the director of test design and implementation at the Oregon Department of Education from 2003–2005. While there, he effectively led the statewide implementation of Oregon’s online assessment.

Chris holds a bachelor of science in political science from the University of Washington, Seattle, as well as a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Chris currently serves on the board of directors for The Fund for Portland Public Schools, serves as co-chair on the Oregon Business & Industry Education Committee, and is a member of the University of Oregon President’s Diversity Committee.

Outside of work, Chris enjoys spending time with his three children. He believes one of life’s greatest rewards is helping others, which includes mentoring students. He is currently the president of the local little league, which is a job in itself.