Candidate for
Council Member; City of Cincinnati

BIOGRAPHY

Chris Monzel and his wife Jana live in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Winton Place. They have two children, Mary Grace, who is 4 years old and 8 month old Jacob. Chris is 33 years old and the younger of two boys. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio and was raised in Loveland, Ohio. There he attended St. Columban Grade School and later graduated Valedictorian from Moeller High School in 1986. His interest in politics was first sparked while at Moeller when he took part in student government, the American Legion's Buckeye Boys State, and the Cincinnati City Council's Youth in City Government Program.

In 1990, Chris graduated from Purdue University with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. At Purdue, he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and was elected to various offices including both vice-president and president. Upon graduation, General Electric Aircraft Engines selected Chris for its Engineering Development Program in Cincinnati. While working for the General Electric Company, he attended the University of Cincinnati at night and received the degree of Masters of Science in Engineering. During this time, Chris was a resident of Mount Adams and very active in the community. The residents elected Chris to the Mount Adams Civic Association as a trustee. Also, Chris helped with the Day in Eden Festival, worked with a church youth group, and taught Sunday school at the Holy Cross-Immaculata Church.

Because of his community involvement, Chris became very interested in pursuing social work on a full-time basis. Therefore in 1993, Chris accepted a position with the Marianist Volunteer Service Community in Queens, New York where he worked for one year at the Angel Guardian Home Foster Care Agency in Brooklyn, New York. While there, Chris worked with teenage boys and girls helping them to develop independent living skills for when they left the foster care system. Following this, Chris became the acting Director of a homeless shelter in Oakland, California. As director, he gained a greater understanding of housing and health care issues facing the inner city community. In 1995, Chris accepted a teaching assignment at Minsk State Linguistic University in Minsk, Belarus where he taught American Studies. This assignment provided him with the opportunity to learn about the difficult environmental and political issues facing the people of Belarus. While in Minsk, Chris pursued fundraising grants for the Children of Chernobyl organization and pro-democracy groups.

Because of these experiences and his interest in public service, Chris returned to the classroom and received a Masters degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1998. Upon graduation, Chris returned to Cincinnati and worked for TK Engineering Associates, Inc. Once again he became involved in the community, the residents of Winton Place elected Chris vice-president of the Winton Place Community Council, and he co-chaired the Winton Place Festival of Arts.

Chris re-joined General Electric Aircraft Engines as a systems engineer, and in February 2001 the Republican Party appointed Chris to the Cincinnati City Council.