Christopher Audain is the Program Officer at AmbitioUS, an initiative of CCI that encourages the development of burgeoning alternative economies and fresh social contracts so that artists and cultural communities can achieve financial freedom. Chris has a passion for developing sustainable economies that uplift artists and elevate their incredible impact on our communities and way of life. 

Originally from Nashville, TN, Chris is an artist at heart. He is also an arts administrator, singer, humanist, and creative writer. Prior to joining CCI he served as Managing Director for the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan. Chris also spent thirteen years in Chicago, where he worked at several prominent nonprofit organizations such as the Alphawood Foundation, the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He has also served as Chairman of the board for Congo Square Theatre Company. Chris has broad experience reviewing, writing, and editing grant proposals for national, regional, and local funding, including serving as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Work Fund, Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the City of Chicago, and several others. He received his BA in Political Science from Kenyon College with a minor in Music. He has a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Goucher College, where his thesis focused on advocacy strategies for increasing public funding to the arts, particularly, the National Endowment for the Arts. Chris believes that if we fully support and embrace the arts we can discover a pathway for a radically better future, together.