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Personall

	Christopher was born in Ibadon, Nigeria. He has lived in Gloucestershire, England; Michigan and Chicago in the USA; and in Canada, he has resided in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia (many months in Manitoba, also). He grew up with his father, Humphrey, a physician and medical health officer, as well as his mother, Iris, who was a teacher, pioneering work for children with learning disabilities within Saskatchewan. He is the middle child of three brothers, his youngerbrother, Jonathan, and his older brother, Ian. His beloved mother died in 1986 after a long struggle with breast cancer. His father now lives in the same city that Christopher lives in.
As a child in Saskatchewan,Christopher spent much of his time in the bush, exploring, observing (and sometimes even catching) all sorts of animals and birds. During these times he developed a love for and fascination in all things living. Nothing in nature was ever ugly or disgusting to him, these sentiments were foreign to him. His curiosity drew him to all creatures. His mother also shared this love for the animals and plants, and also introduced him to writings such as the Jungle Book, everything written by Gerald Durrell and Farley Mowat, as well as an appreciation for the poetry of Wordsworth, Shelly, Coleridge and others. She also developed these marvellous tales which involved thefamily Siamese cat, Bamboo, a local unicorn who apparently lived in the wilderness nearby, and all the other animals which moved through the forest. She would tell these stories while the family would sit within a small tin boat, fishing for rainbow and brook trout on a Northern lake. In his late teenage years, while living in Alberta, Christopher fell in love with a beautiful young woman from British Columbia named Eleanor Bannister. They dated for over four years, including one whole year apart while Eleanor was in Indonesia, and in 1981, when they both were at the age of 21, they got married. Christopher’s love for life in nature translated into a love for human life also. In response to this Christopher decided he wanted to become a minister. He obtained a bachelor of theology at a Seventh-day Adventist college, and later a Master of Divinity at Andrews University in Michigan. Christopher worked for several years as a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Alberta. However, over time, it became clear to him that this was not a world which he wanted to stay part of. Any realm which dictated a clear and non-doubtable path of both belief and action, which must be strictly adhered to, was not a realm which Christopher wanted to be connected to. Christopher had become a much loved pastor, but he was questioning the necessities of such beliefs, including the need for a belief in God, himself. His love for nature had showed him something other than a divine ruler and creator, and this understanding did not at all leave him depressed, on the contrary, it seemed to open up so much possibility, even joy. Christopher stopped pastoring, and obtained a Master of Science degree in marriage and family. At the beginning of 1992, Christopher and Eleaner, with their newborn child, Paul, moved to British Columbia. Christopher has worked in a number of different capacities since his move to British Columbia. After this move to the West coast, Eleaner and Christopher had two more children, Adrienne and Lexi (Alexandra). His love for the life as found in nature found a perfect home in coastal British Columbia. As a child in England he and his family had spent much time by the sea, and, it seems that when the sea is in the blood it never leaves. Even in the prairies of Canada, Christopher felt the presence of the sea in the wide open spaces, he saw the waves as the wind moved on the wheat fields, and he spent all the time he could close to water, constantly returning to the local streams, rivers and lakes. But, on the coast, things came to life in utter abundance -- salmon, whales, seals, eagles, endless seabirds, uncountable life in the tidal zones. He found it intoxicating. And, he discovered the life of the Fraser River, the movement of millions of salmon, the monstrous sturgeon, at times hundreds, perhaps thousands of bald eagles, along with an abundance of birds, amphibians and snakes. It was through immersion in such worlds that Christopher discovered the camera, and he learned of the power of the image. As a child he learned to love the creating-image through the likes of water-colour and charcoal, pen and ink. And, he was recognized for these creations, winning a number of awards at local art shows. But, it was the camera, much later in life, that he felt most connected with.
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Curriculum Vitae

1986	Master of Divinity	Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

1991	Master of Science, Marriage and Family Therapy	Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California.

1991 -- 1992	Family Therapy	Private Practice – Calgary, Alberta.

1992 -- 1994	Addictions Therapist – for youth and families	Abbotsford Community Services -- Abbotsford, British Columbia

1992 -- present	Family Therapy	Private Practice – Abbotsford, British Columbia.

1992	Organized a workshop in conjunction with Abbotsford Community Services, with family therapist and psychiatrist, Karl Tomm.	Abbotsford, British Columbia.

1993	Organized a workshop in conjunction with Abbotsford Community Services, with family therapist , psychiatrist and human sexuality specialist, Gary Sanders.	Abbotsford, British Columbia.

1993-- present	Child, youth and family therapy, Chehalis, British Columbia. Chehalis is an aboriginal community at the confluences of the Chehalis and Harrison Rivers in South-Western British Columbia. My involvement with Chehalis has played a large role in forming the type of work I love to do.	Chehalis Community School, Chehalis, British Columbia.

1994	Organized workshop with family therapist and author, Lynn Hoffman.	Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.

1994 -- 1998	Clinical Supervisor and Director for Impact Adolescent Substance Abuse Program.	Abbotsford, British Columbia.

1994 -- 2004	Creator and Director of “Connections” a rhizome-model, gift-centred and family-oriented approach to developing healthy community for youth involved in the criminal justice system. Developed through Fraser Valley Education & Therapy Services, of which Christopher was co-director. These services were provided in the local communities of the referred families.	Throughout the various communities of the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, including: White Rock, Delta, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Langley, Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Agassiz, and Hope.

1994 – 2004	Developed the concept of Local Wisdom – the process of documenting and celebrating the individual, family and communal wisdom and gift-exchanges within the real-lives of those people we are working with. Produced Local Wisdom journals, both printed and online.	Used Local Wisdom in a number of contexts, including the Connections program, throughout the communities of the Fraser Valley of British Columbia.

1994 – 2004	Developed the practice of Collaborative Action Planning – a rhizome/gift-exchange alternative to the usual assessment and case-management tools. This tool was first developed as an integral part of the Connections program. It has been employed in many different contexts, including an extensive usage by public health nurses throughout the Fraser Valley of British Columbia to assist with those families and individuals who they found most challenging.	Fraser Valley, Vancouver, British Columbia

1994 – present	Language of Gifts/Honouring Community – Training and Consulting. Began in 1994 and continues to this day. A Language of Gifts was a term which Lynn Hoffman used to describe the work we were involved in, which included the processes of Local Wisdom and Collaborative Action Planning. This training began with students involved in internships with the Connections program, but it evolved to a much larger sphere of influence, including extensive training/consulting within British Columbia, including the Fraser Health Authority, the Interior Health Authority, the Ministry for Children and Family Development, Abbotsford office, Ministry for Children and Family Development, for social workers throughout the Fraser Region, the Langley School District, the Chilliwack School District. Numerous other workshops were held in British Columbia, Washington State, California and England. The Language of Gifts training has been organized through three organizations of which Christopher has been connected: Fraser Valley Education & Therapy Services, Rock the Boat, and C. Kinman & Associates.	Throughout the Fraser Valley, the Greater Vancouver area, and within the area serviced by the Interior Health Authority of British Columbia.

1994	Presented Honouring Community/Language of Gifts training for Seventh-day Adventist Kinship (a gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex support group)	Toronto, Ontario.

1995 -- 1997	Taught a yearly course at Seattle Pacific University, focusing on therapeutic services to youth and children	Seattle, Washington.

1996	Organized a training event with Lynn Hoffman in Abbotsford, British Columbia, centred on the services of the Connections program.	Abbotsford, British Columbia.

1998	Organized a training event with Lynn Hoffman in Burnaby, British Columbia.	Burnaby, British Columbia.

2001	Organized a training event with Lynn Hoffman in Surrey, British Columbia. A joint project between the Fraser Health Authority and Rock the Boat. Celebrated the work of public health nurses and their involvement with a Language of Gifts.	Surrey, British Columbia.

2004 -- 2005	Family Therapy for families where one of the children was involved with Youth Forensics Psychiatric Services. Many of these youth had been convicted of sexually assaulting a younger child.	Youth Forensics Psychiatric Services -- Ministry of Children and Family Development, Government of British Columbia – Chilliwack, Mission, Abbotsford.

2004 -- 2005	Family Therapy for families involved in the child-welfare system. Worked toward the reunification of such families.	Chilliwack -- Ministry of Children and Family Development, Government of British Columbia.

1993 - 2008	Provided clinical supervision and therapeutic services to A Community Vision for Children and Families, an agency providing residential services for high-risk children and youth in the child-welfare system of British Columbia.	Throughout the lower-mainland and Fraser Valley of British Columbia.

2007	Joined with Lynn Hoffman in a workshop for the Social Work department of Eastern Washington University.	Spokane, Washington.

2007	Joined with Lynn Hoffman in a workshop for the Graduate School, Marriage and Family Therapy Program of Loma Linda University.	Loma Linda, California.

2007	Presented Language of Gifts/Honouring Community training for Seventh-day Adventist Kinship (a gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex support group).	San Francisco, California.

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