The advisory board for the Consortium for Human Flourishing at Saint Louis University provides expertise and knowledge to the SLU consortium to achieve its mission and vision.
Meet the Board
Art McCoy, Ph.D.
Art McCoy, Ph.D., is an inspiring, internationally recognized educator and champion of children. At age 19, he began his career as a mathematics teacher in the Rockwood School District after graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science, reportedly as the youngest certified teacher in Missouri. He served as a secondary-level principal from age 22 to 25. After receiving a Doctor of Philosophy, he was named Pattonville’s K-12 Gifted Director at age 25. In December 2010, McCoy became the youngest and first African American superintendent/C.E.O. of Ferguson-Florissant School District at age 33 and a leader for Harvard’s Pathways to Prosperity.
From 2014 to 2016, he served as the superintendent-in-residence/chief academic officer of the MIND Research Institute and the Center for Education Innovation/Base 11 in Irvine, California, supporting over one million students in 2,500 schools and colleges across America. In February 2016, he was recruited to return home and named superintendent of Jennings School District. Under McCoy’s leadership, multiple graduating Jennings classes achieved 100% graduation, career and college placement as featured in the media.
McCoy is a 2017-2022 scholar-member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute of Research on Poverty and Saint Louis University’s first Distinguished Fellow of the School of Education and third Geospatial Institute Fellow. He has served on over 30 executive boards and councils, including the Muny, the Sheldon, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Commerce Bank St. Louis Region Board, Ranken Technical College, University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor’s Council, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce 2030 Alliance, and state and federal education departments and legislative bodies (i.e., House, Senate, Congress) advising on policies, legislation and more.
McCoy is a two-time NAACP Inspiring St. Louisan, where he resides in Missouri. He is a 2013 Superintendent of the Year, 2017 PBS American Graduate Champion, 2018 UNCF Keeping the Flame Awardee, 2020 Honorary Firefighter of the Riverview Fire District, and more. McCoy leads and has inspired scores of innovative initiatives, raised more than $20 million, authored articles and books, and founded SAGES LLC and 501(c)(3), with the mission to “Sever Attainment Gaps Existing in Society.”
Matthew T. Lee, Ph.D.
Matthew T. Lee, Ph.D., is the director of empirical research at the Human Flourishing Program at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. He is co-author of "The Heart of Religion" and co-editor of the forthcoming volume "Measuring Well-Being", both with Oxford University Press. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Health, Flourishing, and Positive Psychology at Stony Brook University’s Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics, and he previously served as chair of the American Sociological Association’s Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity. His research explores pathways to human flourishing, benevolent service to others, and the integration of social science and the humanities.
Toby Chaudhuri
Toby Chaudhuri has partnered with prominent organizations and governments worldwide to advance goals that promote the well-being of both humanity and the planet. He has worked with Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Al Gore to increase federal benefits for underrepresented communities. Chaudhuri advised the U.S. State Department regarding the involvement of youth populations in the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, he worked with civil rights leader Marian Wright Edelman, who ran the Poor People’s Campaign, initially organized with the help of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout his career, Chaudhuri has served on leadership teams for organizations such as PBS, the Children’s Defense Fund and Common Cause. Chaudhuri has effectively supported organizations and leaders by reenvisioning work approaches, creating relationships, and empowering all individuals involved, especially those served by these organizations. Since the beginning of his work, Chaudhuri has focused on helping to address societal issues like healthcare and the economy so individuals and communities can flourish.