MI-03: Peter Meijer (R)
PROFILE
About Meijer:
Peter Meijer is a fourth generation West Michigander, born and raised in Grand Rapids.
After graduating high school, Meijer spent a year at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Soon thereafter, he enlisted in the Army reserves and deployed to Iraq as a non-commissioned officer, serving with an intelligence unit at joint US-Iraqi bases in the Baghdad area.
As a sergeant, he led soldiers and missions that resulted in the detention of enemy operatives.
After returning from Iraq in 2011 and finishing his studies at Columbia University, he joined Team Rubicon, a veteran-based disaster response organization. With Team Rubicon, Meijer led humanitarian efforts in South Sudan dealing with a refugee crisis, and also led operations in New York after Superstorm Sandy, Oklahoma after a series of devastating tornadoes, and in the Philippines after Super Typhoon Yolanda.
While in the Philippines, he accepted a job with a conflict analysis NGO in Afghanistan, arriving in Kabul on Christmas Day 2013. He ran the NGO’s advisory operations in southern Afghanistan from Kandahar City, managing a large team to help aid workers safely deliver assistance to the Afghan people. He last served as acting deputy director for Afghanistan.
From Afghanistan, Meijer pursued his M.B.A. at New York University before returning to Michigan to work in urban redevelopment and real estate.