Chris Hagerbaumer

Chris Hagerbaumer joined OpenAQ March 2022. She provides strategic leadership, runs operations, manages OpenAQ’s mighty team, and cultivates collaborative relationships in pursuit of a core human right: the right to breathe clean air.

Chris came to OpenAQ with 26 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. At Oregon Environmental Council, she led the organization’s air quality, climate, and transportation work for 10 years, then served as Deputy Director for 13 years. In the latter role, she led strategic planning and program execution, provided administrative and fundraising support, facilitated an exceptional work environment, continued to lead the organization’s transportation work, and assisted her staff in promoting equitable policy solutions at the intersection of human health and the environment. Just prior to OpenAQ, Chris was Principal of Baumer Strategies where she helped clients develop and advance public policy and organizational goals; and she learned the value of open data in a special projects role with MobilityData, a nonprofit that works internationally to ensure data quality and consistency related to transportation options.

Chris served as a U.S. Peace Corp Volunteer in the Republic of Palau where she taught at the elementary school level, developed Palau’s first environmental education handbook, and established a recycling program.

She earned her master’s in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and her bachelor’s in German Literature from Reed College, attending Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München as a junior.