ABOUT CHRIS HAUGEN

Highlights
• Raised in Berkeley
• 41 year resident of Santa Clara County
• BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Stanford
• MA in Education from Stanford
• Co-founder, Vice Principal and Teacher at The King’s Academy in Sunnyvale
• Married 35 years to Janet, also a teacher.

Eye Opening Experience
Upon graduation from Stanford, Chris became a Civil Engineer with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Working for the government he found flagrant disregard for tax payer dollars. The agency never filed his report showing that a smaller dam would be the most cost-effective solution. Instead, government bureaucrats opted for a much larger dam, reasoning that they could keep more people employed at added taxpayer expense.

Making a Difference
Wanting his life to make difference, Chris resigned from his well paying civil engineering job to work for a non-profit organization, Young Life. Formed in 1941, this organization is committed to making an impact on the lives of junior high and high school children, preparing them for the future.

Answering a Call
Enjoying his work with young people, Chris returned to Stanford, earned an MA in education and responded to the need for more math and science teachers in the public school. Confident that making their home in Palo Alto would afford the best educational opportunity for their two children, Chris and his wife Janet became very involved in their children’s education.

Making a Contribution
Unfortunately, even in one of the best school systems in the country, the Haugens were very disappointed with the books and viewpoints of the public school. In 1991, the Haugens co-founded a private high school, The King’s Academy. Their son was in the first graduating class. Today, the school has an outstanding reputation, educating 720 children from grades 6 through 12.

Janet and Chris continue to reside in Palo Alto. They have two children, Marni and Erik, both Stanford graduates.