Class Note 2000
Issue
September-October 2026
Class Note 2000. Christopher Ellis Jr. is now serving as deputy mayor of Albany, New York, under the administration of Dorcey Applyrs.
During one of his brief and infrequent breaks from local politics, Chris was kind enough to sit down and provide some backstory. It’s been a winding path to public service come full circle as he’s now living a life “closer to what I envisioned in 1996 than 2016.”
Chris grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, in the 1990s—at that time, the city with the highest murder rate in America. Thanks to a high school guidance counselor and a Dartmouth assistant basketball coach who saw his test scores (and presumably game as well), he was invited on a “Black Perspectives” trip to Dartmouth and found a place where he could belong.
As he put it, “Dartmouth attracts a particular type of personality—the kind who can make your own fun”—and he was drawn to the idea of seeing a gamut of regional perspectives on one campus. His foreshadowing admissions essay was about economic development in his hometown and even included a proposal to repurpose his old high school building. At Dartmouth he served as president of Alpha Phi Alpha, a connection that has continued after graduation serving on national and international leadership groups. Always interested in policy, he’s focused on tax, tech, and higher ed policy legislative affairs both in public and private roles, culminating as the director of state legislative affairs in Albany for the New York City mayor’s office beginning in 2022.
Albany is a small world and he’d known incoming Mayor Applyrs as a colleague for almost 25 years but never as a coworker. Approached about the role of deputy mayor in December, he dove in with both feet. He’s now spearheading Albany’s “Championing Albany’s Potential” project, an ambitious $400-million state grant program at the hyper-local level to revitalize infrastructure and add jobs.
Somehow, Chris also maintains a life outside of city hall, which he credits to his aggressively supportive wife. They have two children—a 13-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl—and are regulars at track meets and basketball games. Eschewing sleep, Chris also serves as a trustee at his local church.
Among fellow Dartmouth alumni, he keeps in touch with freshman roommate Brian Feldman, visits campus at least annually, and regularly attends Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA) events on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Applyrs closed her campaign with: “Let’s get to work—we have a city to transform.” She and Albany are both fortunate to have a high-energy ’00 on their team.
—Ben Patch, 56 Ridge Road, Bristol, RI 02809; dartmouth2000secretary@gmail.com
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During one of his brief and infrequent breaks from local politics, Chris was kind enough to sit down and provide some backstory. It’s been a winding path to public service come full circle as he’s now living a life “closer to what I envisioned in 1996 than 2016.”
Chris grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, in the 1990s—at that time, the city with the highest murder rate in America. Thanks to a high school guidance counselor and a Dartmouth assistant basketball coach who saw his test scores (and presumably game as well), he was invited on a “Black Perspectives” trip to Dartmouth and found a place where he could belong.
As he put it, “Dartmouth attracts a particular type of personality—the kind who can make your own fun”—and he was drawn to the idea of seeing a gamut of regional perspectives on one campus. His foreshadowing admissions essay was about economic development in his hometown and even included a proposal to repurpose his old high school building. At Dartmouth he served as president of Alpha Phi Alpha, a connection that has continued after graduation serving on national and international leadership groups. Always interested in policy, he’s focused on tax, tech, and higher ed policy legislative affairs both in public and private roles, culminating as the director of state legislative affairs in Albany for the New York City mayor’s office beginning in 2022.
Albany is a small world and he’d known incoming Mayor Applyrs as a colleague for almost 25 years but never as a coworker. Approached about the role of deputy mayor in December, he dove in with both feet. He’s now spearheading Albany’s “Championing Albany’s Potential” project, an ambitious $400-million state grant program at the hyper-local level to revitalize infrastructure and add jobs.
Somehow, Chris also maintains a life outside of city hall, which he credits to his aggressively supportive wife. They have two children—a 13-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl—and are regulars at track meets and basketball games. Eschewing sleep, Chris also serves as a trustee at his local church.
Among fellow Dartmouth alumni, he keeps in touch with freshman roommate Brian Feldman, visits campus at least annually, and regularly attends Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA) events on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Applyrs closed her campaign with: “Let’s get to work—we have a city to transform.” She and Albany are both fortunate to have a high-energy ’00 on their team.
—Ben Patch, 56 Ridge Road, Bristol, RI 02809; dartmouth2000secretary@gmail.com