Meet Dr. Miller

Dr. Artesius Miller is the Founder & CEO of the Utopian Academy for the Arts Charter School Network. He is recognized as a visionary leader in K-12 education who founded the first authorized charter school by the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia. His academic strategies have helped Utopian scholars outperform their local school district schools in all subject areas.

 Miller also serves as the Vice Chairman of the state board for the Technical College System of Georgia and as an adjunct professor at Morehouse College’s Center for Excellence in Education.

Dr. Artesius Miller, CEO UAFA Charter Network

As a graduate of Atlanta Public Schools, Dr. Miller has seen, hands-on, the economic disparities and academic challenges facing Georgia classrooms. He has a heart for public education and is dedicating his life to meeting those challenges by pushing  students and staff to achieve at high levels.

 

As the recipient of a prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, Dr. Miller earned degrees from Morehouse College (B.A., Economics, 2009), Teachers College, Columbia University (M.A., Education Leadership, 2011), and the University of Georgia (Ph.D., Educational Administration and Policy, 2016). He began his professional career in financial services as an analyst with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, respectively. Then, in 2009, he tackled a job that would change his career path. He served as a College Access/Mentoring Coach at the Bronx Lab High School, a Brooklyn KIPP AMP school.

 

When he relocated to Atlanta in 2011, Dr. Miller accepted a job as the Operations Analyst and Business Development Manager for Mosaica Education, a national educational management organization. He identified opportunities for company growth, developed and coordinated charter school proposals and presentations, established relationships with corporate partners, non-profit organizations, community leaders, and vendors, and more.

 

He then served as Program Director for the Steve Harvey National Mentoring Program for Young Men, where his work included planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling program activities. He saved more than $300K in operating budget expenditures, developed initiatives to support the strategic direction of this empowering foundation, and secured understandings with national colleges and universities to award scholarships to program students.

 

Then, Dr. Miller found a position that allowed him to merge his talents as finance and business expert with his passion for public charter school education.

 

As the Business Manager at Wesley International Academy charter school from 2013-2014, Dr. Miller provided leadership in operations, financial management, and human resources—all to support the principal’s execution of the school’s vision and mission.

 

He then followed his entrepreneurial spirit and petitioned Clayton County Schools to open a charter school of his own. After three denials from a school district that was concerned about competition, Dr. Miller’s charter application was approved by the State Charter Schools Commission. Utopian Academy for the Arts opened in 2014 as Clayton’s only middle school offering a rigorous academic and fine arts curriculum. The charter school opened with more than 200 students led by Dr. Miller as its founder and executive director.

 

Dr. Miller’s professional experience in finance and education management, combined with his determination to provide an arts education for children in a county that was eliminating arts classes, has helped Utopian Academy to thrive. The school has a growing enrollment and a national reputation in the entertainment industry. It is frequented by Hollywood actors, directors, producers, and filmmakers as well as state education leaders.

 

Dr. Miller has worked effectively with key stakeholders—including Utopian Academy’s governing board, staff, students, and parents—to position Utopian Academy to become one of Georgia’s top charter schools networks. He develops and executes a clear strategy with the board on working effectively with the State Charter Schools Commission to optimize the school’s ability to expand academic and arts programs and develops plans to manage school growth.

 

Dr. Artesius Miller is a member of: Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education; Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society for Economics; Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society; the Screen Actors Guild; and The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, an honors organization that recognizes and elevates high-achievers. He had the distinction of being named a Gates Millennium Scholar, JPMorgan Chase/UNCF Corporate Scholar, Bonner Scholar, Mercedes Benz Scholar, and Target All-Around Scholar. In 2006, Dr. Miller participated in the prestigious Public Policy and Leadership Conference at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.