A native of Austin, Chris has a BA from the University of Texas at Austin, a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a JD from the Boston University School of Law.  He graduated law school in May 2009, took the Texas bar exam in July 2009, and was licensed in November 2009. 

Between college and law school, Chris was selected for a public policy fellowship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, DC and worked as a policy analyst with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.  Following this stint in Washington, Chris worked as a policy analyst at the Mexican American Legislative Caucus in the Texas House of Representatives, where he also helped launch the Moreno/Rangel Legislative Leadership Program.  Afterwards, he attended Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he studied state and local government, and minored in negotiation analysis.  Chris then worked as a researcher for Professor Stephen Goldsmith, a former mayor of Indianapolis and District Attorney for Marion County before beginning law school.  While a researcher, Chris published several papers on various state and local government topics.

During his law school years, Chris was selected for the Boston University Public Interest Law Journal and served as President of BU’s Latin American Law Student Association.  He was also involved in BU’s civil litigation clinic, where he served indigent clients on unemployment and disability benefits issues.  Upon his graduation, Chris earned a concentration in litigation and dispute resolution.  During his law school summers, Chris worked as a judicial clerk for Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Brownsville Division and as chief aide to the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.