The second annual AL DÍA 40 Under Forty event will serve to highlight and showcase some of the most diverse and impactful young professionals across the Philadelphia region.

At the event, taking place on August 27, 2021, Christopher Gale will be one of the 40 honorees. Currently, he is the Chief Programs Officer & Center Director at North10 Philadelphia.

Christopher Gale currently serves as Chief Programs Officer & Center Director at North10 Philadelphia, which he joined in July 2019. Gale has done extensive work throughout his career in both the nonprofit and government sectors, with a particular passion for families and young people facing systemic poverty. Prior to joining North10 Philadelphia, Gale has served in a number of different roles, including deputy director of community schools for the City of Philadelphia, administrator at Casa del Carmen Preschool Academy and manager of literacy initiatives at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia. 

Gale is a graduate of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration and nonprofit management before going on to earn a master’s degree in public administration from Villanova University. 

 Learning how to deal with failure has been the biggest challenge.  I have dealt with failure in my personal life but rarely in my professional life.  Failure hits just as hard but presents a learning opportunity to reassess my past career moves to ensure that I'm still moving in the right direction.

Boards need to diversify who is at the table, both in race/ethnicity and backgrounds, to ensure that executives also reflect the community the organization serves.  Most nonprofits that serve black and brown communities are still run by white, affluent individuals who do not understand the daily struggle their clients face and make decisions that are not always helpful. Further, those communities being served can feel empowered by seeing someone who looks like them in the Executive Director/CEO role.

Being a leader means understanding the impact that my decisions have on others, so I need to take as much time as necessary to ensure that I have considered the possible effects on my staff and my community as well as the effect my decision may have on my organization.  As a leader, it is also my responsibility to leave the door open for those behind me to make more progress than I have been able to make through my career.

I will either be in the same position but running programs and services at a high level of quality that is making a tremendous impact in the Hunting Park and East Tioga neighborhoods or I will be an Executive Director/CEO of a community-based nonprofit.  I don't plan on leaving my current job unless I have the opportunity to become an ED/CEO.