Kristi Sanford

Kristi grew up in a conservative, working class town in Ohio, during a time corporations accelerated factories closing and union busting. Her family was lucky: her mom and mom’s partner worked at the hospital, one of the few places not laying people off. At 18, she got a Rotary Scholarship to Argentina, an experience that led her to question the ideology that America knows best, to begin to understand that the meritocracy is a lie, and to become really curious about American foreign policy. Like a lot of Ohioans, Kristi moved to Chicago for a job after college. She spent 20 years doing organizing and communications work, starting with the organizations that are now Arise Chicago and Interfaith Worker Justice. She’s lived in Rogers Park the entire time. When she needs to get pumped up and moving, Kristi loves to listen to anything by James Brown, starting with “Get Up Offa That Thing.”