Chris Graham is a 2019 DesignTO Ambassador. He is a representative of DesignTO Festival’s creative community. As a leader of Toronto design locally and globally, he is an excellent resource for Festival information and a familiar face at Festival events. Learn more about him below.

Meet Chris in person at Designer Drinks on November 6, 2018. Click here to RSVP for the event. 

Chris has been a professional for over a decade. He’s twice been a lawyer: at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, in New York City, representing very large banks; and at Pape Salter Teillet LLP, in Toronto, representing Aboriginal governments across Canada. (There’s a surprising amount of overlap between those jobs—just ask!)

Chris is the founder and principal of TellPeople, a vehicle for teaching storytelling and communication to professionals. He produces the Roar Festival, a music festival fundraiser for Camp Ooch (a camp for kids with cancer), and AMAZING NEW STUFF (a monthly showcase of Toronto’s best writing and music). He’s an investor in Artery.is (think AirBNB for house concerts), and a popular storyteller on stages around Toronto.

Chris’s writing has appeared in publications in Canada and the USA and he formerly edited part of Canada’s leading legal encyclopedia. He can tell you what it’s like to ride a toboggan down a volcano, how cold it gets at night in the Syrian desert, and what it smells like in Britain’s oldest library. He’s a mentor to students at Massey College, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and Ryerson University.

Chris holds degrees from the University of Oxford (history), University of Toronto (law), and Acadia University (business).