Christian John Lillis is executive director of The Peggy Lillis Foundation (PLF), which he co-founded with his brother, Liam, following the death of their mother from a clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection in April 2010. PLF is building a nationwide C. diff awareness movement by educating the public, empowering advocates and shaping policy.

He was previously managing director of prospect strategy & research at Teach For America. With more than 15 years’ experience as a frontline fundraiser and behind-the-scenes strategist for healthcare, LGBT rights, and education organizations, he led prospect identification and research programs that increased resource development both nationally and regionally.

Prior to joining Teach For American in November 2009, Christian served in a variety of roles for a diverse group of nonprofits, including as Director of Development for In The Life Media, Director of Major Gifts for the National LGBTQ Task Force, and Associate Director of Development Research for NYU Langone Medical Center. Throughout his career, Christian has been a frequent speaker at conferences including the Mid-Atlantic Researchers Conference and Creating Change: The National Conference on LGBT Equality. He was also a contributor to Prospect Research: A Primer for Growing Nonprofits by Cecilia Hogan.

Christian is an adviser to the Patient Voice Institute and Gulf Coast C. diff Collaborative, as well as a member of Consumers Union Safe Patient Project and Chicago Area Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Network.

He is a former member of the board of directors of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York and the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) of Greater New York.

Christian began his fundraising career at Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund.

He holds a B.A. in Political Theory from Brooklyn College, where he served as a term as President of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance and won The Donald G. Whiteside Poetry Award his senior year.

Christian is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He currently lives in Park Slope with his husband, Chris Young, and their rescued “beagle baby”, April. His hobbies include Tae Kwon Do (he is a black belt), Zumba, reading comic books and JD Robb’s “In Death” series, and poetry writing.