CHRISTOPHER J. HERRERA, Associate and Writer

Education
B.A., English / Literature, University of California, Los Angeles

Professional Background

Christopher has worked in social change communications for more than 20 years. After graduating from UCLA he spent seven years at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, initially as the Publications Coordinator and eventually as the Director of Public Education. At the ACLU, he coordinated and led regional and statewide communications campaigns on a wide variety of issues including voting rights, disparity of educational resources, immigrant rights, equal access to education, reproductive rights, and civic engagement. He also served as the in-house photographer, graphic designer and editor for all publications.

Christopher represented the ACLU in community coalitions, town halls, public hearings, and as a public speaker on issues ranging from county budgets to statewide tax initiatives, and from community policing to capital punishment.

Returning to his native Bay Area in 1998, Christopher joined Abernathy Anderson, a communications firm dedicated to working with nonprofit clients. There he developed and implemented communications plans for such diverse organizations as nurses unions, community colleges, and environmental advocacy groups.

In 2000, he became the first Communications Director at Tides Foundation. At Tides, he built a robust communications program and served for many years as the in-house communications leader for all Tides organizations, including Tides Center, Tides Shared Spaces, e-Grants (later Groundspring), and eventually the Tides Network. As Tides acts as both a service provider and a thought leader, Christopher led diverse initiatives including development of an on-line grants management tool for Tides donors and clients as well as communications for grantmaking initiatives on economic justice, environmental sustainability, reproductive rights, Native American rights, and voter engagement. At Tides, he developed a series of donor education publications on topics such as international grantmaking, civic engagement, and equity-based urban renewal.

Christopher directed and launched a series of websites for Tides and subsidiary and partner organizations; developed a media relations program; and directed a visual rebranding and messaging campaign that included regular staff training for all Tides employees. He also served as the executive producer for the online film and interactive website The Story of Stuff, which featured environmental and sustainability activist Annie Leonard. Since its launch in 2007, The Story of Stuff has been viewed more than 15 million times and spawned its own freestanding organization.

Christopher joined Fern Tiger Associates in 2012 as Project Associate and Writer.