Christopher Rufo
Christopher Ferguson Rufo (born August 26, 1984) is an American conservative activist,[1][2] New College of Florida board member, and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.[3] He is an opponent of critical race theory, which he says "has pervaded every aspect of the federal government" and poses "an existential threat to the United States".[4] He is a former documentary filmmaker and former fellow at the Discovery Institute, the Claremont Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.[5][4][6]
Chris Rufo
August 26, 1984
- Opposition to LGBTQ discussions in classrooms
3
Rufo has been involved in Republican efforts to restrict critical race theory instruction or seminars.[4] He described his strategy to oppose critical race theory as using the term to "put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category" and "to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think 'critical race theory.'"[7] Rufo's appearances with Tucker Carlson on Fox News reportedly influenced President Donald Trump to issue an executive order in 2020 banning some topics from diversity training for the government and contractors; the order was rescinded by President Joe Biden in 2021.[1][4]
Rufo opposes teachers discussing LGBTQ issues in schools. He has contended that public schools are often "hunting grounds for sexual predators."[8][9] He has said that "to get to universal school choice, you really need to operate from a premise of universal public school distrust."[10]
Early life and education
Rufo was born on August 26, 1984.[11] He was raised in Sacramento, California. His father was born in San Donato Val di Comino, Italy,[12] and his mother is of Scottish ancestry. He graduated from the local Rio Americano High School in 2002. Rufo received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 2006.[13][4][5] In 2022, he earned a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies in the field of Government[14] from Harvard Extension School.
Personal life
Rufo grew up in Sacramento, California. His father was an immigrant from Italy; his mother is from Michigan. He attended Georgetown University and later settled in Seattle in 2014. [45]
Rufo is married to Suphatra "Kip" Paravichai, a Thai-American who was once a computer programmer at Amazon Web Services.[4] As of 2021, they live in Gig Harbor, Washington, with their three sons.[19][46]
