Chris Praedel was born and raised in Kalamazoo. His roots run deep. He was born at Borgess Hospital, raised in the Burke Acres neighborhood near Spring Valley Park, and a proud graduate of both Kalamazoo Public Schools (Kalamazoo Central) and Western Michigan University, earning a BA in Management. He also attained the rank of Eagle Scout in local Troop 205. He was a regular in his neighborhood as a longtime paperboy for the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Chris currently resides in the Milwood neighborhood with his wife, Erin, their three boys, Lincoln (8) and Simon (7), Felix (3) and four-legged friends, Roz (the dog) and Iggy (the cat).
Chris is passionate about literacy and kids.
Immediately following graduation, he committed to two-years of national service in the Americorp program, Teach for America. He taught in a self-contained third grade classroom in South Chicago and Los Angeles during his service term. He also earned an MA in Teaching from Dominican University. He has mentored two area teenage boys through Big Brothers Big Sisters.
From 2011 to 2022, he remained active in the Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC), serving in numerous capacities from Board President (2012-2013; 2014-2015), Annual Campaign Chair (2013, 2015), and numerous subcommittee chairs. The KLC is a nonprofit volunteer tutor organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of adults who struggle to read. He was honored by the organization as the 2016 Literacy Advocate of the Year.
Chris has remained active in a number of other area non-profit organizations, including most recently serving on the State Representative District Service Office (DSO) board, the El Concilio Campaign Cabinet, and the Kalamazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute (KLI).
In 2015, Chris was appointed to the City of Kalamazoo's 21-member Blue Ribbon Panel on Revenue. The Panel was instructed to research, study, and explore revenue options that, when considered together, would address the City’s General Fund structural budget imbalance.
Chris was first elected to the 53rd Kalamazoo City Commission in November 2019. He has served as liaison to the Planning Commission, Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study (KATS), and Pension Board. He also served on the First Amendment Subcommittee and City Attorney Search Committee. He has not missed a single pre-scheduled meeting in his nearly four years of service.
Chris currently serves as a nonprofit executive in the local housing sector, serving as Executive Director of Community Homeworks. The organizations provides critical home repairs and empowering education to low-income homeowners.
He was honored with the 2018 WMU Spirit Award and 2017 Make A Difference Award, both peer-to-peer honors. He was recognized by Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial as a 2022 Hometown Hero.