Hello, it’s me. Chris “Citizen” Stewart. Before all else, I’m a father who lives and breathes education policy because I want my kids (and yours) to do better in school than I did. My K-12 school years were blotted with failed tests, classes, and grade levels. When I became a parent with my firstborn, the thought of passing on that failure to him scared the hell out of me because the high stakes of entering into adult life without education were too high.

Year by year, grade by grade, I learned about the ups and downs of schooling. The more I knew, the more I advocated for others.

Today, I’m an award-winning education activist, writer, speaker, podcaster, and influencer focusing on elevating the policies and practices that show the most promise for ensuring children thrive.

Since 2017 I have had the privilege to be the Chief Influencer at brightbeam, a digital advocacy team that amplifies grassroots voices through Ed Post and other digital platforms.

Before joining brightbeam, I was selected from 600 applicants to become a Bush Foundation fellow. I was incredibly proud of that award because it connected me to creative people working to improve the world. The fellowship provided resources and educational experiences that taught me network-building strategies to move causes forward. During this time, I was the founding executive of the African American Leadership Forum, an intergenerational agenda-setting network of Black leaders across several states, which also connected me with accomplished mentors and advisors.

In 2019, another leadership door opened when I was selected to be a Pahara Fellow with the Aspen Institute. It has been a huge honor to level up my network and meet incredible thinkers and doers dedicated to social good.

Following a passion for two-generation anti-poverty strategies, I established the Wayfinder Foundation. It raised funds to provide direct grants to women activists who challenge the systems serving their communities. Today, that foundation is run for and by women of color leading justice efforts in communities nationwide.

I have been seen and heard in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Ebony, The Grio, Huffington Post, Reason, NPR, The Hechinger Report, USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The 74, Chalkbeat, Sirius XM, and FOX Soul as well as other national and local news outlets.

I don’t say this to brag but to say many of my childhood dreams have come true. As an elementary student with poor grades but big ideas, I wanted to be a communicator - either a journalist, newscaster, or community organizer. I doubted it would happen, but I pursued writing as a blogger and poet, even when no one was reading or listening. Luckily, there were always good people in my path who encouraged me to do more and opened doors to increase my chances of succeeding.

I am forever thankful to those people, the door openers, and I am committed to being that person in the lives of others.

I live among the mature trees and abundant deer of exurban Minnesota with my life partner and unreasonably loud school-aged children who are very cute but refuse to turn off lights when they leave rooms.