When Dr. Christopher Meyrick stepped into his first superintendency in 2019, he did not realize he was about to receive a masterclass in crisis management that would define his approach to the next great educational frontier: artificial intelligence.

In the latest episode of the DA Changemakers podcast, Meyrick, the superintendent of New Jersey's Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District, argues that the COVID-19 pandemic was the ultimate training ground for the disruption now being caused by AI. The episode explores the parallels between the 2020 shutdown and the 2022 release of ChatGPT, focusing on how leaders can navigate periods of extreme uncertainty.

Meyrick reflects on his early days as a leader, noting that the pandemic forced schools to abandon traditional playbooks and rely on their staff’s ingenuity.