40 under 40 — Zachary Meunier

Delta Chi, 2009 — Recognized in: 2018

Fun Fact: Zachary Meunier is the first brother to graduate from Zeta Psi’s Delta Chi chapter after its refounding. Since then, Zachary has become a rising star in the national campaign scene. Among his proudest achievements is helping to reelect the Prime Minister of Aruba in 2013. According to Zachary, this was the first time in Aruban history a party has increased its vote share after going into government. In 2016, Zachary worked as a consultant in a successful effort to defeat a ballot initiative in Georgia that was supported by the governor. He worked on another for independent expenditures that added legislative seats in Arizona. 

Zachary credits Zeta Psi with being an extremely positive force in his life both during and following his university experience.

“The most direct and tangible way Zeta Psi affected my college experience was simply helping it continue. I loved American University, but even with scholarships through the school and loans, $50k tuition plus room and board was steep for a middle-class Midwestern family during a recession. The Educational Foundation took a little stress off almost every semester and it was a big deal.

In a larger sense though, Zeta Psi taught me how to actually get things done in an organization. Constantly going 110% and being OCD is a great way to do well and school and perform well in individual tasks, but, when dealing with thirty 18-22 year olds, it’s a quick way to end up not making much progress and spinning your wheels. I was hardly ever perfect, but I learned to the value of getting the group to buy in and the positive returns that getting that buy in can have.

Finally, Zeta Psi gave me relationships that I cherish to this day. I knew a few of my pledge brothers before pledging, but it was our shared experience of chartering a chapter that gave us a deep bond I’m proud to continue to share. There were plenty of days it felt like we might not be building something to last, but we figured it out. It’s awesome to get to continue to watch the chapter grow.”