Andre Perry is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of New Orleans, Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, and CEO of the UNO Charter Schools. Dr. Perry writes a newspaper column for the Louisiana Weekly on K-16 leadership and governance in Louisiana. His primary research interests are immigrant educational rights and migrant education. Read below to learn more about him.

Q. What music have you listened to today?

A. The Roots’ live CD. I’m a big Roots fan. I’ve also listened to some jazz, specifically some Coltrane and Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A. A teacher.

Q. What is your favorite cocktail?

A. Caipirinha.

Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?

A. It sounds crazy but, one of the Senate offices in DC.

Q. What profession would you like to practice in your next life?

A. I honestly can’t see myself as anything other than a professor. Even if I became an athlete, I would study the kinesthetics of it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

Q. What is your fondest childhood memory?

A. I grew up with a bunch of kids who came from all areas of the neighborhood. I always remember us playing in the backyard—playing basketball, football, hide-and-go-seek.

Q. What is your most prized material possession?

A. I could say my wedding ring. That would be good for print. But I want to say my camera. I love my camera.

Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most like to meet for dinner?

A. The person who raised me.

*Photo by Andy Levin.