Meet Nick Mueller | Chess nonprofit leader and educational consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Mueller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

Cochise Chess started as the Youth Chess Club at Bisbee’s award-winning Copper Queen Library in the summer of 2022. I founded the club in response to how few activities kids had access to during the summer months. Since then, I’ve continued to heed the wisdom of Cochise County’s citizens. As a result, the program has grown to over 300 members. This spring we will offer chess instruction in English and Spanish at 8 locations across the county and 2 in Sonora, Mexico.

Social impact: how does your business help the community or the world?

Cochise Chess is one-of-a-kind. Usually, to attend a multilingual chess program where staff have decades of teaching experience, where the chess gear is provided for free, and all program members receive significant one-on-one time, a person has to live in a major city. We bring the game and its benefits — improved memory, concentration, attention span, communication, and more — to small rural communities in Cochise County. That means we visit tiny county libraries like the one in Elfrida and the bigger ones in Douglas and Bisbee. We meet folks where they are as learners and community members. We’re bringing a stimulating game and a brighter future to our members from age 5 to over 80.

We’re especially proud that our membership is nearly 40% female and nearly 50% minorities. That’s unheard of for a chess program in the United States.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

At every location we go to, there’s a risk no one shows up. Cochise Chess takes an informal approach to chess education, so we don’t require any sign ups or fees. We head out the door every time believing in what chess can do for our communities and members so there is no risk. Our program members and admirers know what we’re about. They know we believe chess is for everyone and we’ll do our utmost to support our members growth as learners and community members.

What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?
I listen to the five-year olds as much as the grandparents. I listen to the impoverished folks who visit the program as much as the highly educated members. They tell me what to do. My role is to figure out how to give it in sustainable ways that bring benefits to everyone while spending hardly any money.
Our growth from 1 location to 7 locations was funded by nearly $2,000 in donations from individuals which I matched with my money. Now I listen to what people tell me to do about funding.

Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?

Cochise Chess was a 5 hour per week commitment for the first year. It is now a 60 hour per month commitment on my part. The key to maintaining a healthy balance has been trusting our team of ten volunteers. Our assistant coaches know how they’re supposed to coach based on the trainings they’ve received. Our graphic designer knows the brand guide we established. I leave them to excel at what they do and maintain channels of communication.

I keep reflecting on the balance because it keeps changing. Continued reflection about the role Cochise Chess plays in my life is necessary because I’m also a educational consultant, English professor, and full-time graduate student. My reflections are meaning-centered as much as logistical. As long as the work’s doable, I feel good, and the whole is meaningful, then I’m fine.

What makes you happy? Why?

Happiness is an agitated, generally unsustainable state. I feel content because I pursue collaborative meaning-making instead.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?

Chess is both artistic and creative. A wise person said that not every artist is a chess player, but every chess player is an artist. There’s also an art to creating a one-of-a-kind chess program for less than $4,000 when you’ve never done it before.

How do you define success?

The threads of my life have risen and converged with everyone I meet.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up like a lot of the kids in Cochise County: poor and with little access to enriching activities. Bringing chess to them started as teaching to that younger version of myself. That’s the font from which Cochise Chess continues to flow.

I don’t believe in the overcoming narrative and we need to stop selling it. We’re here to help each other. Let’s focus on that. Let’s focus on reducing obstacles and reduce the need to overcome, especially when it comes to accessing quality education. An example: As a high school student, I was one of the top chess players in the state despite not having a set at home to practice on. I trained myself when I could at school while also taking advanced placement courses, and working. Imagine what that kid could be for doing for humanity now if there wasn’t such an emphasis on overcoming.

Overall, as an educator, I started teaching while I was a kid so that maybe I’d get beat up and abused less. That plan didn’t quite work out. But I did get hired by Kaplan to teach standardized test preparation out of high school. I soon went to work for myself and have since consulted with folks across the US, Australia, and India. Most recently I’ve begun work with an educational nonprofit that supports orphaned children and their communities in Ukraine.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My mom is already very comfortable watching Netflix on the sofa with my cat. That’s the best time ever, according to Barbara.

For my friends the strangers:

In Bisbee, you have to go to Kafka for your caffeine. No, they will not serve you anything blended or sugary or purple. Yes, you will be happy with that. Then it’s a short walk uphill to Mile High Market for a toasted bagel with all the fixings, included some delightful lox. Totter around the canyons uphill and catch some amazing murals. Then roll back downhill through the galleries and shops, making sure to stop at Acacia, then lunch at Le Cornucopia Cafe for award-winning meatloaf and desert. Nap at a hotel before another amble, this time to Artemizia Foundation, Arizona’s premier destination for contemporary graffiti and street art. Then it’s off for more award-wining food at The Quarry where you’ll have psych rock for desert with the stars in your eyes.

And that’s your first day in Bisbeeland.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The librarians across Cochise County! In particular, Jason Macoviak and Alison Williams at the Copper Queen Library (Bisbee), Diana Manguero at the Douglas Public Library, Steph Fulton at the Huachuca City Library, and Kim Wagner-Hemmes at the Elfrida Library. Thea Van Gorp of the Bisbee Science Lab has been a wonderful advisor. Laurie McKenna at Bisbee’s Central School Project, our fiscal sponsor for grants, has also provided essential guidance. Each one of those folks is worth more than a queen – that’s the piece with the highest point value in chess!

Website: https://cochisechess.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cochisechess/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/npmueller/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cochisechess