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Dr. Chris Meek

Dr. Chris Meek

Executive Producer

Dr. Chris Meek has been a financial services executive for over 25 years and involved in the ETF marketplace since 2000. His roles have included Managing Director of Global Relationships Management at S&P Dow Jones Indices and U.S. Head of Asset Manager ETF Sales at State Street Global Advisors.

While working at the American Stock Exchange running floor trading for Goldman Sachs, a company where he spent 16 years as a volatility trader, risk manager, and trader on the Institutional ETF Desk, he was at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001 and considers himself exceptionally fortunate to have been among the survivors who were able to escape the aftermath of the collapse of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.

Understanding that he and others in the finance sector had a vital role to play to ensure that terrorism didn’t shut down the cornerstone of American freedom which is our financial markets, he and his colleagues spent 20-hour days after the attacks purchasing the technology required for individuals to work in remote and new locations, setting up a T1 line, and connecting with each of his team members to make sure that they were ready to return to work, in an effort to help keep the nation moving forward.

Because of his experiences on September 11, 2001, he knew that his calling in life was going to evolve. In honor of the opportunities that he had been given to make a difference in the lives of others as a survivor, he was inspired to give back to the men and women who were eventually sent overseas to serve our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of SoldierStrong, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that focuses on helping America’s veterans take their next steps forward in life after service through the donation of revolutionary medical technologies to Veterans Affairs medical facilities and individual veterans across the country. To date, SoldierStrong has donated more than $5.5 million in medical technology to benefit the lives of injured veterans.

He has been recognized for his work in philanthropy with the President’s Call to Service Award (2011), March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award (2012), Syracuse University’s Orange Circle Award (2014), the American Council For Technology – Industry Advisory Council’s “Game Changer” Award (2020), as a member of the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) Task Force (2020) and named a “Face of Philanthropy” by the Chronicle of Philanthropy (2021).

He holds a BA in economics and political science from Syracuse University, an MBA in financial management from Pace University in New York City, an MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and a doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Meek has served as an adjunct professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on nonprofit management and board governance.

He is the host of the Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek podcast which airs weekly on VoiceAmerica – Live Internet Talk Radio’s Empowerment Channel and focuses on personal empowerment, commitment to well-being and leadership through adversity. Since 2020, he has hosted leaders from the worlds of mental health and anti-human trafficking advocacy, leadership, business, sports, entertainment, faith, medicine, politics and public policy to engage in thought-provoking discussions to help the audience take the next steps forward in their own journeys to better themselves and their communities.

He chronicles his own experiences with resiliency, empowerment and leadership through adversity in his first book Next Steps Forward: Beyond Remembering, The Power of Action, released in 2022.

Michael Gier

Michael Gier

Director and Producer

Michael Gier got his start as an entertainer starring in Broadway shows all over the country, and then also started working as a Television & Film actor; credits include “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Mrs. Harris” with Ben Kingsley, “Baskets” with Louie Anderson and Zach Galifianakis, “Suddenly Susan” with Brooke Shields, a recurring role on “The Bold and The Beautiful,” and many more.

Michael is also an award-winning director/producer. In 2009 Michael started Gier Productions, LLC, a full-service global production company. Over the years he’s directed/produced hundreds of TV commercials, corporate videos, short films, feature films, and documentaries.

In 2021 Michael released two award-winning documentary films, “Wounded Heroes” and “Healing the Heroes of 9-11.” Both films feature successful alternative treatments that help those battling PTSD get their lives back.

Michael began production on The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11 in early 2022, after Chris Meek of SoldierStrong approached Gier Productions with the idea for a film. “I didn’t want to produce a 9/11 film similar to what’s been done before, so instead, I pitched the idea that we produce a film that would feature the positive things that came from 9/11 despite the tragedy,” says Gier. “Chris Meek loved the idea, and so our film goes beyond the tragedy of September 11 and instead features the incredible acts of bravery, humanity, and resilience that followed. My team and I traveled across the country conducting interviews and filming dramatized reenactments, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created. It’s been an honor and a privilege to be part of this powerful documentary, and I’m excited to share it with the world in September 2026.”

For more, visit www.MichaelGier.com

Gary Sinise

Gary Sinise

Narrator

Gary Sinise’s stage, film and television career has spanned more than four decades. His role as Lt Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump portraying the disabled, emotionally tortured veteran, gave him Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations. Other film credits include Apollo 13, Ransom, Snake Eyes, Impostor, The Green Mile, Mission to Mars and The Human Stain.

His most recent film and television work include, I Still Believe, Good Joe Bell and the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. Gary has starred as Jack Garrett on the series Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, and for nine seasons as Detective “Mac” Taylor on the hit series CSI: NY, both of which aired on CBS. Sinise is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and two-time SAG Award winner for his roles in Truman and George Wallace. He also received a SAG Award nomination for his role in The Stand.

In 2003, he formed the “Lt. Dan Band” and began entertaining troops serving at home and abroad. Over the years, the 13-piece cover band has performed hundreds of shows for charities and fundraisers supporting wounded heroes, Gold Star families, veterans and troops around the world.

In 2011, he established the Gary Sinise Foundation with the mission to serve and honor America’s defenders, veterans, first responders, Gold Star families and those in need.

When asked why he wanted to do the narration for this film, Sinise said, “I wanted to be part of this film because of the message of the film, because it’s important that We Remember and never forget. I believe this film will have great impact, and it’ll be a film that will live on and on to help future generations know what happened that day, how Americans handled the grief, and learn about the many great things that came from that tragic event.”

Dr. Chris Meek

Dr. Chris Meek

Executive Producer

Dr. Chris Meek has been a financial services executive for over 25 years and involved in the ETF marketplace since 2000. His roles have included Managing Director of Global Relationships Management at S&P Dow Jones Indices and U.S. Head of Asset Manager ETF Sales at State Street Global Advisors.

While working at the American Stock Exchange running floor trading for Goldman Sachs, a company where he spent 16 years as a volatility trader, risk manager, and trader on the Institutional ETF Desk, he was at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001 and considers himself exceptionally fortunate to have been among the survivors who were able to escape the aftermath of the collapse of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.

Understanding that he and others in the finance sector had a vital role to play to ensure that terrorism didn’t shut down the cornerstone of American freedom which is our financial markets, he and his colleagues spent 20-hour days after the attacks purchasing the technology required for individuals to work in remote and new locations, setting up a T1 line, and connecting with each of his team members to make sure that they were ready to return to work, in an effort to help keep the nation moving forward.

Because of his experiences on September 11, 2001, he knew that his calling in life was going to evolve. In honor of the opportunities that he had been given to make a difference in the lives of others as a survivor, he was inspired to give back to the men and women who were eventually sent overseas to serve our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of SoldierStrong, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that focuses on helping America’s veterans take their next steps forward in life after service through the donation of revolutionary medical technologies to Veterans Affairs medical facilities and individual veterans across the country. To date, SoldierStrong has donated more than $5.5 million in medical technology to benefit the lives of injured veterans.

He has been recognized for his work in philanthropy with the President’s Call to Service Award (2011), March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award (2012), Syracuse University’s Orange Circle Award (2014), the American Council For Technology – Industry Advisory Council’s “Game Changer” Award (2020), as a member of the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) Task Force (2020) and named a “Face of Philanthropy” by the Chronicle of Philanthropy (2021).

He holds a BA in economics and political science from Syracuse University, an MBA in financial management from Pace University in New York City, an MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and a doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Meek has served as an adjunct professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on nonprofit management and board governance.

He is the host of the Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek podcast which airs weekly on VoiceAmerica – Live Internet Talk Radio’s Empowerment Channel and focuses on personal empowerment, commitment to well-being and leadership through adversity. Since 2020, he has hosted leaders from the worlds of mental health and anti-human trafficking advocacy, leadership, business, sports, entertainment, faith, medicine, politics and public policy to engage in thought-provoking discussions to help the audience take the next steps forward in their own journeys to better themselves and their communities.

He chronicles his own experiences with resiliency, empowerment and leadership through adversity in his first book Next Steps Forward: Beyond Remembering, The Power of Action, released in 2022.