Chris Upperman, Manager of Governance & Strategic Initiatives for Facebook | From The White House Mail Room To Changing The World At Facebook

Chris Upperman is currently the Manager of Governance & Strategic Initiatives for Facebook (including working with their Oversight Board). Previous to his role at Facebook, he has worked in the Obama administration as well as on the Biden Harris transition team.Chris currently serves on several advisory councils including the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, the National Black MBA Association, NextGen Chamber of Commerce, most recently, has been named Chairman of the Advisory Board of Law Champs, as well as a Member of its Board of Directors, and was a Center for American Progress (CAP) Leadership Institute Fellow in 2012. Christopher attended Georgia State University, and received his Bachelors of Arts in Sociology. He was honored as a Georgia State University 40 Under 40 in 2019.

➡️ Talking Points

00:00 — Intro

02:54 — Chris’s origin story.

10:24 — Working for free in the mailroom of the White House.

13:52 — Civic engagement ecosystem.

23:38 — Eleanor Holmes.

32:49 — Where did you have the greater impact? Government or Facebook?

37:37 — Capitol Hill, back to the White House, and then over to the SBA.

45:36 — Equal opportunity legal access.

1:01:57 — Benefiting marginalized groups.

1:05:10 — Career challenges.

1:19:10 — Don’t internalize too much & tips for Chris’s younger self.

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