Biography

My name is Christopher Hale – most people call me Chris, and you are welcome to (but some like Christopher, and that’s fine too!)

I was born in the United Kingdom in 1988 and grew up in Cambridge and Oxford, England. I did my undergraduate degree in History and Economics at the University of York, with a semester abroad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I fell in love with America and came back to visit my friends regularly.

My first jobs were working in England as a tax accountant, and in South Sudan doing independent research. In 2012, I enrolled at Loyola University Chicago to study Urban Affairs. During my time in Chicago I worked with the Metropolitan Planning Council. After graduating I worked for a year at a non-profit as a Special Projects Coordinator assisting the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

In 2015 I started my PhD at Princeton in Demography. At Princeton I was a member of the Graduate Student Government, the CPUC Rights and Rules Committee, and Treasurer of the Graduate Consulting Club. I found opportunities for teaching and tutoring while at Princeton especially rewarding. I was an instructor in sociology with the Princeton Prison Teaching Initiative, and a preceptor for courses in Program and Policy Evaluation, Race and Ethnicity, American Studies, and Machine Learning. I tutored statistics and economics for policy makers both with the Public Policy School MPA program, and the Junior Summer Institute. I have also tutored Math, Economics, and English, for students of a range of ages as a Master Tutor for a private tutoring agency.

Between 2021 and 2023 I worked as a Senior Policy Analyst and Director at APPRISE, a nonprofit research institute. I also serve in the New Jersey National Guard as a Combat Engineer with the rank of Specialist.

My research and work experience spans a wide range of policy areas including energy, international migration, development, health, urbanization, and education.

I have enjoyed taking on the roles of scholar, teacher, researcher, and soldier. But the most rewarding roles I fill are those of husband and father. I married my wonderful wife Taylor in 2019, followed by a formal ceremony with family in 2021, and our daughter Rose was born June 6, 2022.