Dr. Chris Lambert

Chris Lambert is the award-winning author of Next Level Nonprofit and Next Level Leader, and the Founder and CEO of Next Level Nonprofit, where he helps nonprofit leaders build healthy, high-functioning organizations. It’s not the career trajectory Chris envisioned when he studied marketing at Indiana University, planned for law school, and dreamed of a lucrative career as a real estate developer. But a new call took shape after a spiritual awakening during his junior year of college, while living in Australia, and Chris went on to earn his MDiv and doctorate in preaching from Fuller and Gordon-Conwell seminaries, respectively. Moving to a small village in Liberia, West Africa, Chris and his wife partnered with the local community to mobilize support to drill a well, acquire farm animals, and construct their very first school building. Upon returning to the U.S., they co-founded a church. In 2010 Lambert launched the nonprofit, Life Remodeled, which repurposes vacant school buildings in Detroit into one-stop hubs of opportunity for community thriving.

From two-time TEDx speaker to lists like NABR's Best & Brightest CEOs in the Nation, SMART BUSINESS Dealmaker of the Year, and Building Design + Construction 40 Under 40, Chris’s reputation precedes him. But it’s the journey ahead, and the people who are helping to lead the way, that excites him most.