About Pete

Pete has been a public educator for 30 years, serving in numerous roles including program evaluation specialist, systems analyst, transportation planner, and IT manager. For the last 8 years he’s been Transportation Director at Newport-Mesa USD in southern California. Pete’s primary work interests involve creatively supporting transportation for students with special needs, improving leadership/management practices, and refining transportation operations. He is the recipient of several awards including Orange County Friend of Special Education, NMUSD Administrator of the Year, and the School Transportation News Leadership Award.

Pete has published numerous articles in industry journals, along with Access & Mobility(California’s guidebook for transporting students with disabilities). He is a frequent presenter at national, regional, and state conferences where he is sought after for his informative and entertaining presentations which typically offer practical advice mixed with a few laughs. Pete likes to apply expertise from his diverse experiences to transportation problems and issues. For example, his Transportation Management Lessons from Baseball uses his years of experience coaching travel baseball and softball.  It’s Good to Be On the Lead Elephant applies leadership lessons learned in Asia. Special Ed Data: How to Get It & What to Do With It applies business systems expertise to common transportation operational issues.

Pete has a deeply-rooted passion for travel. He started schooling in New York but finished high school in West Texas. His college education started in Texas with a very brief stint in California, and finished with grad school at Cornell in upstate New York. It’s not surprising then that he met his wife Jan in Houston, even though she is from Minnesota.

The Meslin kids have taken the travel bug to another level. Son Scott has travelled around the world playing soccer. He and girlfriend Jody will now be working in Thailand for a year. The annual father/son Father’s Day round of golf could be really special this year. Meanwhile, daughter Erica has traveled throughout the U.S. playing softball and is now teaching in the Dominican Republic. Pete is brushing up on his Spanish for a winter break in the D.R. You’ve got to visit your kids – right?