Christopher T. Gates is an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and political activist. He is the former president of the

Sunlight Foundation The Sunlight Foundation was an American 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocated for open government. The organization was founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States ...

. He is the past Executive Director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and works as a learning collaborative of funders who are working in the fields of civic engagement and democratic renewal. Gates served as President of the National Civic League until June 15, 2006. He was named President in 1995, previously serving as vice-president of the NCL. Gates earned a master's degree in public administration from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

at Harvard University. At Harvard, he studied the interaction between the public and private sectors. Gates also earned an honors degree in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also spent time as a student at the University of East Anglia in England, where he studied political economics. In 2003, he was elected as the Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. During his term as Party Chair, the Democrats saw success in Colorado, winning a U.S. Senate seat, an additional seat in the U.S. Congress and winning control of both of the houses of the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

. Gates founded the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training, a statewide progressive leadership training program, in 1991 and continues to serve as its board chair. On May 20, 2006, Gates received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

Official PACE biography
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Harvard Kennedy School alumni Alumni of the University of East Anglia Colorado Democrats People from Boulder, Colorado {{US-activist-stub