Christopher North

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Milestones

My road in life has been direct.

I attended Loyola Marymount University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in business and later attended UCLA, where I earned a Master’s of Business Administration.

In 1985, shortly after graduating from college, I was asked to lead a service trip to Tecate, Mexico, to help a group of LMU students paint the dormitory of an orphanage and boys home.

On that trip, I met my now-wife and business partner, Julianne.

Together, we started an organization at LMU called De Colores, which is still in operation and organizes monthly student trips to build homes and schools in Tijuana.

After Julianne graduated, I moved to Mexico with her, we got married, and we continued to help fundraise and help out with various charitable projects.

In 1999, we decided to start our nonprofit, Build a Miracle, which focuses on building homes so that children can be raised by their families instead of having to live in an orphanage.

Initially, our goal was to gather friends and family and to build one home a year, but over the year’s the organization has grown and grown—we have now built over 350 homes to date.

In addition to my work with Build a Miracle, I also work as an entrepreneur in engineering, manufacturing, and aerospace.

Keep following my journey

Education

High School

Bachelor
Business Administration and Management, General
Loyola Marymount University

Graduate
Business Administration and Management, General
University of California-Los Angeles

Career

Co-Founder

I'm an entrepreneur and I help build homes for in-need families in Mexico.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

Non-Profit Organizations

Business

Helping People

Day to Day

My day to day consists of balancing three things: 1. Trying to add value to the efforts of the team that designs and fabricates our products for the construction industry; 2. Dealing with the finances and legal and governmental aspects, things you need to do yourself or stay on top of if outside experts are in charge; 3. Customer relationships and strategic thinking about what markets to pursue, basically marketing and sales at a granular and very high level.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for college students

As a college student, you have an advantage. Entrepreneurial Studies is a MAJOR now and in my day we could hardly spell it. DO THE HARD WORK and learn finance and accounting. Be proficient at Excel, even if your business focus is not in the financial area. Many people in business or engineering find themselves with "P&L responsibility" even if they don't own a business. Be fearless, try things, and figure it out as you go! Get involved on campus!