Kristi Sanford

Kristi grew up in a conservative, working-class town in Ohio, during a time corporations accelerated factories closing and union busting. Her family was lucky: Her mom and mom’s partner worked at the hospital, one of the few places not laying people off. At 18, she got a Rotary Scholarship to Argentina, an experience that led her to question the ideology that “America knows best,” to begin to understand that the meritocracy is a lie, and to become really curious about U.S. foreign policy. Like a lot of Ohioans, Kristi moved to Chicago for a job after college. She spent 20 years doing organizing and communications work.