Christopher Wiseman has built a career around event management and fundraising. On July 1, he joined the Board of the Rotary Club of San Francisco and became Vice President of Development.
Born in Syracuse, NY, Christopher grew up in rural upstate New York, then came to the University of San Francisco, where he majored in politics, the performing arts, and social justice. After graduation, he spent three years selling European antiquities at the fabled Gump’s on Union Square, then moved to Norway.
Back in San Francisco, Christopher began working in event and fundraising consulting, then in 2018 joined the Glaucoma Research Foundation, where he is head of meetings and engagement. The organization hosts one major annual conference and fundraising gala as well as education events for people with glaucoma. During the current pandemic, all meetings and events are virtual.
He and his spouse, Eric, live with “no pets and only two plants” in what “used to be Rincon Hill, now called the East Cut, almost on the Embarcadero.” Christopher is a docent at the Haas Lilienthal House, where he recently led a tour for Club members. He’s also a long-distance runner and has completed six marathons. He loves opera and serves as vice president of the board for the Merola Opera Program and president and chair of the board for Taste of Talent. He also loves to dine out, citing Cantonese and Basque as his favorite cuisines.
Christopher collected foreign coins with his grandfather, which “sort of inspired me to visit the countries where I had coins.” So far, he’s visited 46 European countries and hopes to add Iceland next.
After attending lunch meetings for about six months, he joined the Club in March 2019, because “I was really inspired by the service projects and the community involvement of the group,” he says. “I like the social interactions, the service projects I’ve been involved in, and the leadership development.” He has participated in the Speakers Committee, Thanksgiving at The Arc and gardening at Rotary Meadow and was chair of this year’s World Wide Rotary Day, which was canceled due to the coronavirus. He also hosted a high school student who shadowed him at the office. “That was fun,” he says.
As VP of Development, Christopher says his “goal is to continue to make the Super Bowl fundraiser a success and to find some ways to do creative fundraising throughout the year.” He also looks forward to “getting to know more of the members better and them getting to know me.” To that end, he tries to sit at different tables at each lunch meeting. “I look at this as a long-term commitment,” he says.