Big News: Gratefulness, Awareness, and a Life Transition

The not-yet-an-Olympic-Champion version of me doing a virtual visit with students in Georgia from the Olympic Village in Whistler, BC, just four days before our 4-man Olympic Games race in February 2010.

We all go through transitions in life. Some of them we get to choose, so many more of them we don’t. Some of them are for the better and some, maybe lesser so.

Today, I have some news to share about what I consider to be a very positive transition but first I want to provide a bit of context and learning…

I’ve talked about “pivot” and transition points in our lives before. For me, times of my life that I mark as transition points are almost always singular moments and monumental. A conversation in my head on my couch only days out of elbow surgery brought bobsled, and the making of American Olympic history, into my life. A conversation with my sister sitting on the curb in front of my training residence brought us Classroom Champions. And a deliberate decision walking down the streets of Calgary next to, and not in front of, the lite rail brought me real personal change that re-shaped who I am in this life.

Another pivotal moment of transition took place when I closed my corporate consulting practice in 2013 to go off and build Classroom Champions. Specifically, in May of 2013 as I sat in a parking garage in downtown Calgary.

At the time, I was corporate consulting and executive coaching in the realm of leadership development. On this particular day, I’d delivered a day-long session to a group of 20 leaders that I’d been working with since the previous September, and the day went incredibly well. 

But as I walked out of their offices and got into my car, there was something nagging at me.

“That was a good day,” I thought. “And also, I don’t care.”

That last bit hit me like a ton of bricks. And in retrospect, it was that I didn’t care nearly as much as I did about the volunteering I was doing every evening at my kitchen island to start Classroom Champions.

I wanted to get my hands dirty and experience something new in life. I wanted to feel the pressure of leading people, making payroll, making tough decisions, reaching for metrics, working with a board, and learning through failing and winning. 

I wanted to see if I had what it took to transfer my success from the bobsled track to the board room.

The day after that revelation in the parking garage and three years of us trying to get Classroom Champions really going off the side of our desks, I called my co-founder and sister, Dr. Leigh Parise, and said it’s time for us to fish or cut bait. And I told her I was about to go fishing.

Later that day I walked into the offices of the consulting firm I was partnered with and said to the managing partners, Lee and Natalie, “Hey guys, I’m going to wrap up my consulting work over the next month. I’m going to go build Classroom Champions for real.” There was no questioning in my voice, there was no asking for permission. It was a change I was making and that was that.

And so I departed my consulting practice with the sole goal to establish Classroom Champions as a stable, sustainable, and powerful entity while innovating and enhancing the influence of North America's athletes to change the way kids thought about themselves, their accountabilities, and their abilities. The ultimate goal was to transform kids lives and to positively change the way the education system sees the potential for these Nobel-prize-style purveyors of goal-persistence, growth mindset, resilience, accountability, and teamwork — the skills that resonate in the lives of successful people in all endeavors. 

Personally, selfishly, I decided I didn’t want to try to hire someone to do this; I wanted to try to do it myself. 

Professionally, I wanted to build something that was strong enough that one day it wouldn’t need me to survive. I wanted to build Classroom Champions strong enough to stand on its own two feet. Something that would innovate and help kids in perpetuity, which was something that not many athletes had truly ever done before.

Eleven years after that moment in the parking garage, and almost fifteen years after conceiving of the idea (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Olympian not too busy for DeKalb kids) and growing it with Leigh, my wife Dr. Rhiannon Mesler, and our long-time Board Chair and my mentor, Dave Pottruck, Classroom Champions is stronger than we ever could have imagined. With over $50,000,000 in support directed towards enriching education and life skills over the past decade+, thousands of schools actively engaged in various programs, multiple revenue streams, and most importantly, millions of students learning how to reach their goals in school and life, Classroom Champions is ready for takeoff.

I had no idea it would be so hard. I had no idea it would be so rewarding. I had no idea it would take so many people (I’ll put that long and distinguished list in the P.S.) and so many years. 

I had no idea that over the next decade my life would bring the Board of Directors of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, marriage, children, burying of teammates, and my own depression with many thanks to the weight of it all. All life ambitions of my own choosing.

I also had no idea how grateful I would be for every moment of it. 

The long, sleepless nights preparing presentations or laying awake in bed worrying about things in, and out, of my control… all of it has come along with immense gratitude that is hard to find words for. 

To be in a position in life to help millions of children think about their schooling and lives in ways that can be beneficial to their present and future is humbling, and rare. It is an absolute gift. I would not be here — and most importantly, Classroom Champions would not be here — without the support of people who believed in our dream and supported us in making it a reality: teachers, athletes, donors, volunteers, staff, board members, and more. I am beyond grateful to every single person who has contributed to our efforts.

With all of your support, Classroom Champions has achieved a new level of stability and innovation. Together, we have changed the way people view athletes and their ability to impact our youth. No longer is it just about sport: Classroom Champions helps kids with grades, attendance, behavior, mental health, life skills, and so much more.

Now, I am proud to say Classroom Champions can now live, breathe, and most importantly, grow and deepen impact — without me in the CEO role.

In effect, Classroom Champions has been built bigger and stronger than I ever thought it could be. It’s always difficult to choose the right time to shift an organization to its next phase of growth. Often that requires a leap of faith and a recognition of what a founder’s absolute best role is. But I firmly believe the moment is right for a change.

With all that in mind — and with many hours of careful deliberation, reflection, and discussion with our Board of Directors, I have made the decision to transition my role from CEO and was recently elected to Chair the Board. This shift, part of a plan set in motion two years ago, follows David Pottruck's move to Chair Emeritus. 

And so, effective May 15, 2024, I'm thrilled to announce that the board of directors and I will name Seth Rosenzweig as my successor and our second Chief Executive Officer to lead Classroom Champions across the U.S. and Canada into our next phase of development.

Classroom Champions will announce more as Seth’s start date approaches.

Here’s a little bit of background on Seth so you can start to get a sense of why I’m so excited to have him join and lead us. Having recently departed Team Impact, a Boston-based national non-profit, under Seth’s leadership, the organization didn't just grow; it flourished, transforming from a local initiative to a national powerhouse that improves the social-emotional health of thousands of kids annually. His strategic vision took Team Impact from impacting dozens of kids to thousands, significantly increased the awareness of their brand and the financial resources available, and deepened their impact while creating partnerships with athletic departments on over 800 campuses across all 50 states. 

Seth’s ability to foster connections, innovate programs, raise funds, and scale impact is exactly what Classroom Champions needs as we move into our exciting next chapter. 

His extensive background, a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard, and his commitment to leveraging athletes to create educational and social development opportunities have prepared him exceptionally well for leading our organization into the future.

To be crystal clear, I will remain deeply involved in Classroom Champions. I will spend time over the next year ensuring Seth’s successful transition from my home in Calgary and traveling with him across Canada and the U.S. to propel Classroom Champions into thousands more schools to reach millions more children.

My role, in essence, will be to help Classroom Champions raise awareness and receive the attention and funding our kids, teachers, and athletes deserve. 

We need more awareness across both the U.S. and Canada in our schools and with funders. We need more government engagement in Canada. We need to reach deeper into major school districts in major cities across the continent to ensure we are reaching those who need our athletes’ support the most. We need to continue to push further and deeper into the First Nations and Metis Settlements who welcome our partnership. And we need more financial resources to support athletes and to develop curriculum, content, and experiences for students to empower them to be more engaged, accountable, and empowered to own their futures.

I truly believe this is the best way I can help kids and schools at this stage. 

I’ve always encouraged my team to play to their strengths and focus on the things they do best. 

I’m trying to live that message by passing the torch to someone who is uniquely qualified to help the organization continue to grow, while positioning myself in a role that I too am uniquely qualified for. 

As you can surely tell, this is not a decision I made lightly.

Transitions are difficult. Human beings are wired to fear change, even if it’s for the best. More than that, for people of a certain disposition (certainly myself, and maybe others reading this newsletter), there will always be the temptation to strive for more. 

More is always possible: More growth, more impact, more money, more success, more notoriety — whatever it is you seek, you can always chase more of it. 

And we can always keep going, keep working, keep pushing. This inclination can help us achieve great things, but it can also cause us to stay too long in certain situations, wanting to squeeze every drop of possibility out of something rather than recognizing when it might be time to move on.

It would be very easy for me to stay exactly where I am, in my current role, and just keep going. But I don’t think that would be the right thing to do for myself or for Classroom Champions. 

And so I’m making the incredibly difficult decision to make a change. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know exactly how it will turn out. But what I do know is that I will challenge myself in new ways and find new opportunities to rise to - of that I am certain. 

(That said, friends, please do check in from time to time. I’m still just a person, and transitions are difficult.)

I always dreamed that Classroom Champions would be bigger than me. That it wouldn’t need me. That’s the ultimate goal of every founder, I think. To build something bigger than yourself. To give something else its own life. It is immensely satisfying to think I’ve done that.

And for that, I’m celebrating what this means for so many, including myself.

I hope this message today helps you understand why I’m making the move I am. And, if you’re considering your own transition, maybe my story and my decision-making process will help a bit with your own. 

Transitions can be uncomfortable. But I’ve learned that they also have the potential to take us exactly where we’re meant to go. 

– Steve 

P.S.: I am so incredibly grateful for my team, my board, and to every single person who has believed in me and in the idea of Classroom Champions - teachers, athletes, donors, volunteers, staff, board members, and more --  to help us get to this point.

When we started Classroom Champions, I had no idea of the relationships and friendships I would build. That it would take so many people to make something like this actually work for kids. 

Among those people are teachers whose names echo through the virtual hallways of Classroom Champions as if they’re Michael Phelps, Clara Hughes, or Lindsey Vonn — teachers who are known by their first names and nicknames only. People like Ella, Diana, Capp, Todd, Laurie, Warren, Monica, Dale, Carole, Norm, Brent, Robyn, Cindy, Kelly, Aughtney, all of the “Jen(ne)s”, and so many more including Michelle Daily who has had Classroom Champions in her classroom since I was the athlete in 2009! 

And then there are the staff and contractors, many of whom are former teachers and athletes, who built this place through thick and thin, including Kate, Heatherle, Giddeon, Emily, Anjoli, Cat, and the over 35 incredible people who are here today.

There are the public citizens who volunteered their time and belief over the years to sit on our boards from the beginning to the present — people like Joel, Elizabeth, Lee, Sarah, Jay, Andy, and of course Lisa — and a dozen more. Along with people I consider brothers, Olympic Gold Medalist Christian Taylor and Paralympic Medalist and World Record Holder Lex Gillette.

And still there are more — including the people who put their family’s and their company’s brands and dollars, and their own reputations, behind this idea to help more kids learn from these incredible athletes. To name just a few of many we have Brendan (CC’s first ever check!), Ralph, Scott, Craig, Beth, Brig & Brendan, Gretchen & Michelle, Geri for helping me understand what’s possible, the dozens of energy industry executives who trusted us to deliver for their communities, and so many more that I can’t possibly do justice to the over $50,000,000 in financial and value-in-kind support this organization has received since 2011. And I also can’t move on without mentioning another brother-like individual, Siksika Nation’s Tyler White, for helping me understand the power this idea can have for the incredible children and people on Reserves across my adopted home of Canada.

Finally - a young man named David Pottruck entered my life in 2014. At the prime young age of 66 at the time, Dave is a self-made philanthropist and former CEO of Charles Schwab. He believed in our idea. He believed in me. He made the organization’s first multi-year, 6-figure gift. He joined our board of directors and chaired that board for close to a decade. He did it without ego and only with a want to have his name, resources, and mentorship go towards growing an idea that could affect the way millions of kids approached their lives.

Over ten years later, Dave has invested and committed a material sum of his fortune and his time to Classroom Champions. Not many things bring me more joy than to think of the life-long friend I have in Dave and the pride he must feel when he looks at what he committed to all those years ago. 

My life is forever changed because of you, Dave. Thank you.

There are literally hundreds more who I haven’t thanked today. Please know I’m grateful and humbled. The amount of people who believed in and have helped Classroom Champions makes the number of people who helped me win Olympic Gold look like a village next door to New York City.