He is known for his work for the public and private school systems including KIPP, the Cristo Rey Network, National Heritage Academies, and Faith in the Future.

[1] Carter was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and moved to Washington, D.C., when he was a young child, where he attended Annunciation Catholic School while his father served in the Nixon and Ford administrations.

[9] In 2008, Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews ran a contest to label highly-successful schools serving low-income neighborhoods.

From 2005 to 2007, Carter was president of National Heritage Academies, where he oversaw corporate strategy and the implementation of educational operations with a focus on turning around low-performing schools.

[12] In 2011, Carter, as a senior vice president, developed global strategy for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's corporate social responsibility mission and served as executive director of the HMH Foundation.