Chris Riser is a human, husband, father, and educator living and working on land stolen from the Kalapuya and other peoples who made a home on these lands nourished by the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. His mission to use his time on earth in the service of life has led him into the classroom. His receipts include an Associate of Arts from Portland Community College, and a Bachelor of Arts in History with Honors, and a Masters in Education from Portland State University. Riser's real preparation came through his seven years in the Portland Teachers Program, a full-tuition scholarship program for people of color who wanted to teach. It was there that he encountered critical educators working through learning and teaching to transform the world, showing Riser the many pathways to liberation from where we are. He enjoys reading, writing, thinking, and spending time outside in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children.