Meet Chris Miller | Nonprofit Professional, Father and Spouse

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My father was in the army so we moved several times before coming to Colorado when I was in the 4th grade. Growing up in a white, middle-class family with sufficient financial resources, I was sheltered from the struggles that many families face in our inequitable society. While I was led to believe that anyone living on the streets must be lazy or made bad choices, only once I left home and was exposed to the harsh realities of systemic racism and heartless capitalism did I realize the immense privilege I had. Sure, I’ve worked hard to get where I am, but that is not at all the main reason why I’m here. Our society tilts the scales to make it much more likely for some people (like me) to succeed than others. The end of slavery and the original Jim Crow laws did not undo the many years of stolen land, stolen wages and countless other injustices that occurred in the early years of the United States’ short history. Just look at the current racial wealth gap as just one of many examples highlighting the lack of a level playing field. My family was able to afford a nice place to live, health insurance, and college tuition for my brothers and I. Meanwhile, families from historically oppressed communities are much more likely to live in substandard housing, lack health insurance and are less likely to attend college (or are more likely to need loans and incur debt in order to do so), to name just a few inequities. All this while the rich keep getting richer, the federal minimum wage not being increased since 2009 and the United States still not providing universal health care despite it being common in many places around the world. Everyone deserves the opportunities I’ve had in life, and that’s how my upbringing has impacted who I am today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, I chose a different career path and was an AmeriCorps VISTA for one year before working in collegiate tobacco cessation and prevention programs for four years. Once funding ended for that work, I shifted to early care and education nonprofits where I’ve worked for the past 12 years. A couple important notes I was not aware of before entering this field that the community might not be aware of: 1) Infants, toddlers and preschoolers do not receive nearly the level of public funding as Kindergarten – 12th grade students. This results in high household costs and large inequities in which children have access to licensed child care. Many parents have to either drop out of the workforce to care for their young child or rely on family, friends or neighbors to care for their child while at work. 2) Infant, toddler and preschool (unless as part of a larger school district) teachers typically make significantly less wages than their Kindergarten – 12th grade teacher colleagues, even though they are caring for and teaching children during the years with the most rapid brain development. Significant more public investment is needed to adequately support young children and families, and their teachers.

A primary lesson I’ve learned is that so many social justice issues are interconnected and can impact multiple generations. Wage/wealth inequality contributes to housing inequities, disparate academic and health outcomes, and the intergenerational cycle of poverty (to name just a few). While I greatly believe in the transformative power of equitable early care and education opportunities to promote social justice, I’ve also been growing more interested in climate justice, affordable housing, pro-immigration policies and combating wealth inequality so I’m not exactly sure where my career will take me from here.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in southeast Denver so we’d start here and visit Esters, Cook Park and Snarfs. Maybe go for a bike ride along the Highline Canal Trail or Cherry Creek. I love coffee shops, with Whitter Cafe being one of my favorites. I also spend a lot of time downtown and would definitely have to go to the Denver Art Museum, Union Station and Blue Sushi (some great veggie options). Then end the trip by grabbing some Cosmo’s Pizza and heading over to Ball Arena to watch the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My spouse and kids for their endless love and support.