Christian is a father of a 9-year-old daughter who graduated with his associate degree in writing and literature from LaGuardia Community College and is one semester away from earning his bachelor’s degree, also in writing and literature, from Hunter College. Before attending college, while Christian prepared to earn his GED, a mentor introduced him to the City University of New York’s Fatherhood Academy. Since then, life has come full circle and Christian is now a mentor himself at the Fatherhood Academy, working as an academic coach. He champions a culture of care on campus in which staff build relationships with students through empathy and encouragement. Christian is also an advocate of culturally-informed strategies, innovations in mental health support, and paid experiential learning opportunities for student parents. Christian’s future career aspirations center around supporting others, especially when it comes to mental health, and continuing professional development in that area.
Snapshots from the 2023 Ascend Parent Advisor Convening in Aspen, Colorado.
Ascend at the Aspen Institute is excited to announce the launch of the 2023 Parent-Powered Solutions Fund, which will provide financial resources and...
Reflections on the experiences, challenges, and joys that shape the life of student father and Ascend PSP Parent Advisor Christian Ortiz.
Among the one in five postsecondary students who are parents, there are close to 1.1 million student fathers. This chartbook synthesizes the available...
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) released the second season of “1 in 5,” its highly rated podcast that explores the multifaceted live...
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) announced that 11 new Parent Advisors have joined its Postsecondary Success for Parents initiative (PSP)...
Location: Virtual & In-Person in Washington, DC
Over the course of two days, our discussions focused on bold, equitable, and pragmatic strategies for building prosperity and well-being for all families. Sessions include insights from the latest two-generation (2Gen) family data, examples of...
Location: Washington, DC & Virtual
On Day 1 we focused on what it takes to move the needle for families with low incomes. Join us for a robust Day 2, in which we will focus on bold, equitable, and pragmatic strategies for building prosperity and well-being for all families. Now is the...
Location: Washington, DC & Virtual
Families tell us they want to prosper and ask us to meet them where they dream. The data tells us that when it comes to reducing poverty there are no silver bullets, but there are silver linings. This two-part session will explore recommendations and...