Most Influential Business Professional
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A. Keith Carreiro |
A. Keith Carreiro Author • Educator • Musician • Speaker • Storyteller In the quiet town of Swansea, Massachusetts, at the end of a road lined with copper beeches and turning leaves, lives a man whose life has been anything but quiet. A. Keith Carreiro is a storyteller in every sense of the word—not just through his writing, but through his teaching, music, and unshakable belief in the power of imagination to shape the world. Keith's journey began with a classical guitar in his hands and poetry in his mind. By the time he was in his teens, he was already composing verse and performing music with the kind of focus and grace that comes only from a deep-rooted passion. His love for sound and story soon carried him beyond the boundaries of Massachusetts. In the 1970s, he toured as a solo classical guitarist across North and South America, performing in concert halls and cathedrals, always listening closely to the music of human experience. But it was not just on stage that Keith found his voice—it was also in the classroom. Over the next five decades, he would dedicate himself to education at every level, from preschool through postgraduate studies. Armed with a B.A. in English from the University of Maine, followed by both an Ed.M. and an Ed.D. in Teaching, Curriculum, and Learning Environments from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Keith became a devoted teacher and academic researcher, eventually shaping young minds as an adjunct faculty member in the English Department at Bridgewater State University. To Keith, teaching is a form of storytelling. Whether leading a literature seminar or coaching students in creativity and critical thinking, he brings a sense of purpose and play to his work—guiding others to find their voices just as he once found his own. As a writer, Keith moves seamlessly between genres. He is best known for his epic speculative fiction series, The Immortality Wars, a saga that weaves together spiritual depth, moral tension, and cinematic scope. In 2024, the series earned the Global Book Awards Silver Medal for Religious and Spiritual Fantasy and was a finalist for the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Yet his literary achievements go beyond fiction. He has authored academic essays, short stories, and poetry that have appeared in numerous anthologies—including a nonfiction contribution to Stephen King's Hearts in Suspension. His 2022 nonfiction book, Send Down the Master in Person: Reflections on Adolf Eichmann, is a powerful meditation on justice, history, and moral blindness. This work, like so much of what Keith produces, is rooted in both intellectual rigor and personal reflection—a hallmark of his writing style. His creativity has led him to stages and podiums around the world. In 2009, he was invited to present at the IV International Congress of Synesthesia, Science & Art in Almería, Spain, delivering a talk titled “A Synesthetic Epiphany and Evocation of Poetic Sensibility.” More recently, in 2023, he was the keynote speaker at the International Dublin Writers' Festival, where he delivered “Mind Mapping: Prewriting Your Next Blockbuster Novel”—an engaging look at how imagination, structure, and vision intersect in the writing process. Despite his global reach, Keith has always stayed deeply connected to his community. From 2009 to 2018, he served on the Swansea School Committee, where his leadership earned him a formal citation of recognition from the Massachusetts House of Representatives for his commitment to education and public service. Keith’s contributions have earned him accolades and inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, an honor awarded to less than two percent of educators nationwide. Yet he measures success not in awards but in the quiet moments: a student discovering a new idea, a reader lost in one of his novels, or a passage of music lingering in the air long after the last note has faded. He is also a family man, a father to five children—Myriah, Eli, Chelsea, Sage, and Shane—and a lover of nature, church fellowship, hiking, movies, and books. These are not just pastimes; they are threads in the rich tapestry of a life lived with intention and grace. Today, through his publishing imprint, Copper Beech Press, Keith continues to produce and champion works that explore the intersection of imagination, spirituality, and humanity. Whether writing, teaching, consulting, or speaking, A. Keith Carreiro remains a quiet force of insight and creativity—a man devoted to the lifelong art of meaningful storytelling.