Chris Spahr ’97

Chris Spahr left Trinity with a passion for service and education that drove him to enroll in the Peace Corps and also continue earning degrees, even to this day. After earning a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State, Chris spent two years in Paraguay in the Peace Corps. This formative experience reinforced messages of a common humanity, for Chris. He says of the experience, ” No matter where we go in the world, we meet people with the same basic needs and wants as ourselves. Family, friendship, a roof over our heads, food on our table, and the opportunity to grow personally and educate our children. Ultimately, we are all one human family. Having the opportunity to live and work in a Paraguay for four years was an incredible privilege. Despite cultural differences I was immediately embraced by my Paraguayan family and friends who became a very formative part of my life.”

After returning to the United States, he pursed an M.S. in Geoenvironmental Studies from Shippensburg University, graduating in 2005, and is currently writing a Ph.D. dissertation on Urban and Regional Planning for the University of Wisconsin. He expects to graduate in 2019. Chris is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation in West Philadelphia. Our mission is to preserve, promote and revitalize our neighborhood through partnerships with businesses and institutions and programs that engage residents, increase opportunity, and grow a diverse, thriving community. Chris says he’s “driven to pursue this work because I’ve learned about the historical failures of city planning that have left economically isolated and segregated communities throughout our cities. My passion comes from an opportunity to play a role in reversing this historical trend through advocating for communities that have suffered as a result.”