Founder & Executive Director, Kreyol Lakay
Founder, Ayibobo Mag
Founder, CF Writing & Editing Services
Co-founder, Delice Dental Health Initiative
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. The organization provides sliding-scale dentistry services to communities in the metropolitan area and beyond and has treated thousands of patients throughout its existence.
Several years after working with the Initiative, Chris founded Kreyol Lakay and Ayibobo Mag, a society and culture org and 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 articles on issues affecting Haiti. In their free time, Chris also runs an online business helping prospective graduate students and remote workers as part of CF Editing & Writing Services.
Chris has also appeared in regional media including the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette and the North Manchester News-Journal. 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 podcast interviews including Yo Soy Negra at the Mexican Institute for the Radio, Table Talk with Wendy Khasandi, and Vox Dominicano with Axel Cardona-Olivero.
They earned their bachelor of science from Manchester University, graduating summa cum laude with an honors program bachelor's degree in peace studies with two certifications in mediation and conflict resolution. 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 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 in development studies at York University in Toronto, focusing on Haitian migration in Latin America.
Chris has earned a variety of academic accolades, including the honor of serving as Keynote Speaker for the Manchester University Research Symposium and the Honors Program Undergraduate Research Academic Excellence Award. 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. Recently, 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 received the prestigious Schwarzman scholarship, the first ever Haitian and Manchester alum to receive that honor. They also received a named fellowship, the Elman Family Fellowship, due to their work in peace research.
Chris has also been invited as a noted public speaker to numerous events including the Mayor of Wabash's Diversity and Inclusion Forum, as well as Manchester University's Race at MU convocation. As an academic, Chris has also 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, and Haitian Creole and is currently based out of Mexico City.
Several years after working with the Initiative, Chris founded Kreyol Lakay and Ayibobo Mag, a society and culture org and 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 articles on issues affecting Haiti. In their free time, Chris also runs an online business helping prospective graduate students and remote workers as part of CF Editing & Writing Services.
Chris has also appeared in regional media including the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette and the North Manchester News-Journal. 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 podcast interviews including Yo Soy Negra at the Mexican Institute for the Radio, Table Talk with Wendy Khasandi, and Vox Dominicano with Axel Cardona-Olivero.
They earned their bachelor of science from Manchester University, graduating summa cum laude with an honors program bachelor's degree in peace studies with two certifications in mediation and conflict resolution. 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 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 in development studies at York University in Toronto, focusing on Haitian migration in Latin America.
Chris has earned a variety of academic accolades, including the honor of serving as Keynote Speaker for the Manchester University Research Symposium and the Honors Program Undergraduate Research Academic Excellence Award. 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. Recently, 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 received the prestigious Schwarzman scholarship, the first ever Haitian and Manchester alum to receive that honor. They also received a named fellowship, the Elman Family Fellowship, due to their work in peace research.
Chris has also been invited as a noted public speaker to numerous events including the Mayor of Wabash's Diversity and Inclusion Forum, as well as Manchester University's Race at MU convocation. As an academic, Chris has also 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, and Haitian Creole and is currently based out of Mexico City.
