Chrissy Garton
What are you doing now?
I am a social impact strategist and philanthropic advisor. I work closely with executives, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs who are rolling up their sleeves with audacious goals for building a better world. My work runs the gamut! Sometimes I am designing new programs, building organizations, reframing systems, training investors, or bridging partnerships. No matter the project, there are always two constants in my secret sauce: innovation and collaboration. 1. Look at old problems in new ways. 2. Lasting impact comes from teams, not individuals.
How has the Fellowship impacted your career?
The Fellowship really was an eye-opening experience for me. It introduced me to the degree that policy plays a critical role ubiquitously across society. It’s important to understand how policy is shaped in any field or issue that you touch. For example, although I don’t work directly in government, I now hold an MPA because all of my work in social impact issues - from education, economic development, human rights, healthcare, housing, social finance, or the arts - can really benefit from public private partnership savvy and policy acumen.
What is your favorite memory of the Fellowship?
The featured programs and panels were excellent but my most transformative learning happened during peer-to-peer conversations. It was eye opening, at such a young and hungry age, to understand new perspectives and passion from my peers who had different backgrounds and interests than I did. I always count it a win when I can learn something from every single person in the room!
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
For now I actually love what I do! I also love the powerful culture-changing potential of philanthropy… I have always felt that as a society we preach balance, while we reward extremes. It would be interesting to instead go all-in rewarding healthy balance. If there were a foundation interested in doing this work in a big and creative way, I would be interested in running an organization like that.