Christian Ali '21

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Christian Ali '21 is one of 11 emerging leaders selected by Coro Southern California for its 66th class of Coro Fellows in Public Affairs. The Coro Fellowship uses the region as a classroom to train the next generation of civic leaders.

Born and raised in Los Angeles County, Ali has always been passionate about helping marginalized communities, specifically members of the African diaspora. Having spent part of his childhood growing up in Nigeria and later working as an instructor in China, Ali's exposure to various education systems has ignited his interest in race and education, with policy at the nexus of the two. Ali graduated magna cum laude from Antelope Valley College with an associate of arts degree in political science before transferring to UCLA and graduating with a B.A. in political science. During his undergraduate studies, Ali was a community liaison for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), the largest sheriff’s department in the world. While at LASD, he collaborated with stakeholders to create avenues for residents to dialogue with police regarding racial profiling and implicit bias. Before Coro, Ali was also a policy fellow at the Urban Leaders Fellowship. While there, he co-created policy to alleviate education issues in New Orleans post-Katrina and COVID-19. After Coro, Ali plans to attend law school to further his interest in law and public policy to be an effective advocate for his community.

Coro was founded in San Francisco in 1942 by W. Donald Fletcher, an attorney, and Van Duyn Dodge, an investment counselor, to train young veterans in the leadership skills necessary to assure that our democratic system of government could more effectively meet the needs of its citizens.

Since 1947, when the first program was delivered, Coro has grown to include Centers in four cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles (1957), St. Louis (1973), New York (1980) and Pittsburgh (1999).

Over 1,000 participants a year go through Coro programs nationwide. There are over 10,000 program alumni currently serving as leaders in local, regional and national/global businesses, non-profit organizations, labor unions, governmental agencies and elected public office.