Hi, I’m Chris Theodore

I am Sharon’s husband and Sophie and Max’s father.

I grew up in Santa Monica and later Temecula, California. My father taught in California public schools for 55 years. My mother gave her time to causes she believed in. From them my brothers and I inherited a respect for moral seriousness.

I attended Claremont McKenna College, where I studied Fine Arts and Economics, and then received a full scholarship to the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where I earned a graduate degree in Art History.

I spent most of my twenties in Geneva, Switzerland and Budapest, Hungary— learning languages and building businesses.  

Since then, my work has centered on public interest journalism, social entrepreneurship and real estate. I founded The Reader, which over a 20 year span became one of the largest-circulation print magazines in California, reaching 400,000 people by mail. In 2021, I ran for the United States Senate. 

Today, my work includes Avalon Partners and Elsewhere—projects shaped by the belief that places and stories are what make the difference in our lives.