Educator, Author, Speaker, & PhD Candidate
Biography
Chris Dier is a history teacher at Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, LA. He is the 2020 Louisiana Teacher of the Year, a 2020 finalist for the National Teacher of the Year, the 2021 Gilder Lehrman Louisiana Teacher of the Year, and a 2023 Lowell Milken Center Fellow. Dier is the recipient of the 2021 NEA H. Councill Trenholm Memorial Civil Rights Award and the 2023 NEA California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. Dier has been featured in the Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Politico, and he has appeared on The Today Show, NPR, CBS, CBC, and CNN. Dier has been awarded fellowships to study history education in South Africa, Germany, Armenia, Morocco, Ecuador, and to advocate for the teaching of authentic history at the UN Headquarters. He is the recipient of two Fulbright opportunities, which led him to Tanzania (2025) and the Philippines (2026). Dier also authored The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre, published by The History Press. Dier has three master’s degrees, and he is presently pursuing a Ph.D. in curriculum development.
- Carrying Katrina 20 Years Later: Climate, Memory, & the Pursuit of Humanity
- Amplifying Voices & Recognizing Responsibility: A History Teacher’s Reflection at the United Nations
- An open letter urging Gov. Edwards to veto anti-transgender legislation
- History Classes Should be Spaces of Empowerment instead of a Politicized Battlefield
- The Urgent Need for Student-Affirming Classes Amid the Education Crisis
Chris Dier 