Chris Francois is the co-founder and vice-president of the Delice Dental Health Initiative, a premier health-oriented nonprofit founded in 2015 and headquartered in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Due to ongoing security issues impacting program delivery in the national capital region, the organization has indefinitely suspended its activities.
The Initiative provides sliding-scale dentistry services as well as oral health education to communities in the metropolitan area and beyond and has impacted over 6,000 patients throughout its existence, reaching individuals and families through various mobile clinic programs, education campaigns, as well as partnerships with foreign non-governmental organizations.
Several years after founding the Initiative, Chris started Kreyòl Lakay, a society and culture website that provided bite-sized educational content on Haitian Creole to the wider Haitian diaspora in the United States and Canada, as well as presented short-form articles on issues affecting Haiti.
Chris has appeared in regional, national and international media including the North Manchester News-Journal and Voice of America. Moreover, Chris has written letters and op-ed articles that have been featured in various print and online mediums, one of which received the Golden Pen Award from the Journal Gazette.
Chris also features on a number of interviews including Yo Soy Negra at the Mexican Institute for the Radio on the experiences of Haitian asylum seekers in Mexico, Hecho en Ámerica on the role of the international community in Haiti's security crisis, and Voz Dominicano with Axel Cardona-Olivero on Haitian-Dominican relations.
Chris earned their bachelor of science from Manchester University, graduating summa cum laude with an honors program degree in peace studies with two certifications in mediation and conflict resolution, along with experience in facilitation for programming and dialogue circles.
During their time at the university's Peace Studies Institute, their research focused on stateless populations on the island of Hispaniola by specifically targeting bilateral government solutions to de jure statelessness using transitional justice and reconciliation theory, a paper which was presented at the University of Notre Dame's annual peace studies conference.
Chris also gained a master's degree in global affairs through the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in China. Their research focused on COVID-19 policy and responses within the global health system by non-state actors, with a specific focus on Chinese orgs. This research project was eventually presented at the Center for China and Globalization, a top think tank within the country.
Chris is currently pursuing their second master's degree in development studies at York University in Toronto, focusing on Latin American immigrants' experiences of belonging in the Canadian context, and the impact of diaspora communities on their integration.
Chris has earned a variety of academic accolades, including the honor of serving as Keynote Speaker for the Manchester University Research Symposium, the Honors Program Undergraduate Research Academic Excellence Award, and the York University Graduate Scholarship.
In recognition of their work in fostering community on the North Manchester campus during their years in student organizations at Manchester University, Chris received the Outstanding Senior Leadership Award from the Office of Student Life.
On the global stage, Chris has received various honors over the years. Their work as a social entrepreneur was honored by the Universal Peace Federation, an international institution in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, which named them an Ambassador for Peace.
Additionally, Chris was selected for the prestigious Schwarzman scholarship, the first ever Haitian citizen and Manchester alum to receive that honor. They also received a named fellowship prize in Schwarzman Scholars — the Elman Family Fellowship — due to their work in social impact.
As part of their current master's program, Chris received a fellowship from York University. Within the university's organized research units, they hold Research Associate status with the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, the Centre for Refugee Studies, as well as the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.
Chris has also been invited as a noted public speaker to numerous events including the Mayor of Wabash's Diversity and Inclusion Forum, Manchester University's Race at MU convocation, as well as a recent panel speaking to diversity and inclusion initiatives in Northwest Indiana.
As an academic, Chris has participated in numerous academic panel events, including on democracy and politics, the antiwar movement in the United States, the impact of DEI work in university settings, as well as the depiction of racialized persons through film.
Chris is fluent in multiple languages including Spanish, French, English, and Haitian Creole and maintains a home base in Toronto.
The Initiative provides sliding-scale dentistry services as well as oral health education to communities in the metropolitan area and beyond and has impacted over 6,000 patients throughout its existence, reaching individuals and families through various mobile clinic programs, education campaigns, as well as partnerships with foreign non-governmental organizations.
Several years after founding the Initiative, Chris started Kreyòl Lakay, a society and culture website that provided bite-sized educational content on Haitian Creole to the wider Haitian diaspora in the United States and Canada, as well as presented short-form articles on issues affecting Haiti.
Chris has appeared in regional, national and international media including the North Manchester News-Journal and Voice of America. Moreover, Chris has written letters and op-ed articles that have been featured in various print and online mediums, one of which received the Golden Pen Award from the Journal Gazette.
Chris also features on a number of interviews including Yo Soy Negra at the Mexican Institute for the Radio on the experiences of Haitian asylum seekers in Mexico, Hecho en Ámerica on the role of the international community in Haiti's security crisis, and Voz Dominicano with Axel Cardona-Olivero on Haitian-Dominican relations.
Chris earned their bachelor of science from Manchester University, graduating summa cum laude with an honors program degree in peace studies with two certifications in mediation and conflict resolution, along with experience in facilitation for programming and dialogue circles.
During their time at the university's Peace Studies Institute, their research focused on stateless populations on the island of Hispaniola by specifically targeting bilateral government solutions to de jure statelessness using transitional justice and reconciliation theory, a paper which was presented at the University of Notre Dame's annual peace studies conference.
Chris also gained a master's degree in global affairs through the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in China. Their research focused on COVID-19 policy and responses within the global health system by non-state actors, with a specific focus on Chinese orgs. This research project was eventually presented at the Center for China and Globalization, a top think tank within the country.
Chris is currently pursuing their second master's degree in development studies at York University in Toronto, focusing on Latin American immigrants' experiences of belonging in the Canadian context, and the impact of diaspora communities on their integration.
Chris has earned a variety of academic accolades, including the honor of serving as Keynote Speaker for the Manchester University Research Symposium, the Honors Program Undergraduate Research Academic Excellence Award, and the York University Graduate Scholarship.
In recognition of their work in fostering community on the North Manchester campus during their years in student organizations at Manchester University, Chris received the Outstanding Senior Leadership Award from the Office of Student Life.
On the global stage, Chris has received various honors over the years. Their work as a social entrepreneur was honored by the Universal Peace Federation, an international institution in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, which named them an Ambassador for Peace.
Additionally, Chris was selected for the prestigious Schwarzman scholarship, the first ever Haitian citizen and Manchester alum to receive that honor. They also received a named fellowship prize in Schwarzman Scholars — the Elman Family Fellowship — due to their work in social impact.
As part of their current master's program, Chris received a fellowship from York University. Within the university's organized research units, they hold Research Associate status with the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, the Centre for Refugee Studies, as well as the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.
Chris has also been invited as a noted public speaker to numerous events including the Mayor of Wabash's Diversity and Inclusion Forum, Manchester University's Race at MU convocation, as well as a recent panel speaking to diversity and inclusion initiatives in Northwest Indiana.
As an academic, Chris has participated in numerous academic panel events, including on democracy and politics, the antiwar movement in the United States, the impact of DEI work in university settings, as well as the depiction of racialized persons through film.
Chris is fluent in multiple languages including Spanish, French, English, and Haitian Creole and maintains a home base in Toronto.