Chris Whitford is the CEO and a Founding Member of Avail NYC, a non-profit serving New Yorkers for over 25 years. She is a 2021 Praxis Fellow for non-profit leaders and participates in a cohort of executive directors from across the country who are aligned with Avail’s mission. As part of Lead.NYC’s Movement Day initiative, Chris has appeared on podcasts and spoken at events geared toward non-profit and ministry leaders throughout New York City and beyond. During her time as an educator to her three children, she founded the Homeschool Academy and developed educational curriculum for the New-York Historical Society, and now serves on the President’s Council for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Additionally, she served in leadership roles with Cru and Christian Union at Columbia University and represented her community for over two decades in city ministries and as a PTA president, vice-president, and board member. Chris and her husband, Tom, are members of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and residents of the Upper West Side. Chris is a graduate of Brown University.