We were thrilled to welcome Derek Chimner '04 as our next guest on Alumni Conversations, a podcast series featuring Sewickley Academy alumni who discuss their lives after SA and share some of their favorite memories as a Panther.

Derek Chimner graduated from Sewickley Academy in 2004, and then attended Elon University where he earned a degree in Exercise/Sports Science and a minor in Broadcast Communications. He began working at his alma mater as a coach for the Middle School Boys’ Basketball team because of a passion for coaching he discovered in his later college years. His passion for teaching the "next generation" only increased with each coaching opportunity he took on, eventually becoming the head coach for the Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Cross Country and Track & Field teams, and an assistant coach for the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team. Beyond the WPIAL district and PIAA state team and individual titles he has led, Derek is most proud of the athletes he helped usher to be collegiate athletes, who would go on to win conference titles and compete at NCAA Division 1 Championship events. Along with his extensive coaching resume, he began working as a full-time member of our faculty & staff in 2014 in the Health & PE department.

Currently serving as the Interim Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, he took on this role to help ease and steady a community that has done so much for him. With his ties to our vast alumni network and his work with students and families over the last 12 years since returning to SA, Derek's focus in this role has been to strengthen our diverse community and share its stories.

When not at SA, Derek enjoys traveling the world and engaging with different people and cultures. As the great American writer Mark Twain said, "One must travel to learn."