News Releases

June 15, 2007

Antioch Picks Global Visionaries Founder as 2007 Distinguished Alumnus

Chris Fontana has been named Antioch Seattle's 2007 Distinguished Alumnus, it was announced by Interim President Mark Hower.

Fontana, a 1998 graduate of the master's program in whole systems design, is co-founder and executive director of Global Visionaries, a Seattle-based nonprofit that aims to get high school students out of the classroom and into the world to become global citizens.

Global Visionaries educates and empowers youth to become active leaders and global citizens who promote social and environmental justice through volunteer work at home and abroad. A highlight of the program is the extraordinary international educational trip to Guatemala involving language and cultural immersion, volunteer work and adventure. Global Visionaries has worked directly with more than 1,000 high school youth of diverse socio-economic backgrounds since 1997. The yearlong leadership program provides youth with a global perspective that empowers them to understand the intrinsic relationships between local and international social and environmental justice issues and volunteer work.

Fontana describes the impact of the Global Visionaries program on students as invaluable and lifelong. "They have a better appreciation of the value of family, the value of people over money," he said. "But they also learn that they matter, that they can change people's lives. They built a school and a home with their bare hands."

From 1989 to 1996, Fontana founded and led SAVE (Students Actively Volunteering for the Earth), which initiated many environmental projects from tree plantings and school recycling to annual statewide youth environmental summits and exchanges among schools of racially diverse student bodies.

Fontana was also co-founder and co-adult organizer of YES, the youth-organized Global Youth Environmental Summits of 1993 and 1995. The 1995 Summit, sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Program, brought together 300 high school students from 32 countries and 40 states for one week of education in environmental and peace issues, social action and leadership skills and direct environmental service.

Fontana taught Spanish for 13 years at Niles West High School in Skokie, Ill., and Islander Middle School on Mercer Island. He has an extensive background in cross-cultural training and resided in Spain for one year, Chile for three summers, Mexico for one summer and traveled extensively throughout the world.

About Antioch
At Antioch University Seattle, adult learners find innovative, individualized programs with a commitment not only to academic excellence, but also to community service and social justice. Antioch is an accredited university in downtown Seattle. You'll find numerous master's degrees, a B.A. completion program in liberal studies, a doctorate in clinical psychology plus teaching and other certificates.

Antioch Seattle is one of six campuses of Antioch University, founded in 1852 in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Horace Mann, noted abolitionist and first president of Antioch College, gave a charge to the class of 1859 that is repeated to each Antioch graduating class: "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

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