Starting his career as a Patient Care Assistant at a regional hospital and as an in-home care attendant for seniors, Chris quickly discovered his love for serving people. Since those early days, Chris has become a highly accomplished executive with 25 years of progressive leadership experience in the human services sector.

Chris uses his engaging and charismatic style to develop organizational plans that connect all stakeholders to the organization’s mission and vision. He has a track record of success working with C-suite executives, senior-level staff, and boards to create uniquely tailored plans with specific goals focusing on innovation, quality, and professional development.

Chris served as President/CEO of Cedar Lake for 10 years, Kentucky’s largest private provider of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. During his tenure, he and his team successfully created and completed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar comprehensive campaign that implemented new innovative services, strengthened their internal culture, and created an exciting external brand.

The new vision helped create opportunities to further engage stakeholders, strengthen business infrastructures, and professionalize employee training and accountability measures.

Before Cedar Lake, Chris served as CEO of Pillar Support Services (formerly Apple Patch Community) for 9 years. He and his team designed and implemented a multi-year, multiple-staged strategic plan, and multi-million-dollar capital campaign to significantly grow the nonprofit by creating one of the nation's first integrated neighborhoods for people with intellectual disabilities.

Because of their extraordinary efforts, Chris and his team received the Business of the Year award from the Oldham County Chamber of Commerce.

Chris served as Vice President of Strategic Planning with Ashley|Rountree & Associates Consulting and worked with many different industries, including Christian organizations, independent schools, intellectual disability providers, senior service organizations, youth services, historic preservation, and refugee services.

Chris has served on several boards of directors and, most notably, as President of the ANCOR Foundation, a national board based out of Washington, DC, that fosters the growth of emerging leaders in the Intellectual disabilities sector. During his tenure, Chris was named a “Legacy Leader,” a distinction awarded to the most influential leaders in the nation.

Chris is also a sought-after conference keynote speaker on transformational leadership and has taught leadership and fund development classes at Sullivan and Bellarmine Universities in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chris has just written a new book, Unabashed Leadership, which addresses the most pressing issues facing human services organizations today and shines a light on a new way of leading that strengthens an organization’s ability to attract and retain top talent.