Today we’d like to introduce you to Khristopher Fields.
Khristopher, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I launched the Wise Up to Rise Up Foundation in 2023 with no car, no home, and no income—just a borrowed laptop and a calling I couldn’t ignore.
There was no full-time staff. No fundraising team.
Just a conviction—and a belief that somebody had to fight for the kids nobody sees.
I started as a one-man force behind the movement. I built the website. I edited the videos. I led the events, mobilized the volunteers, wrote the grants, and ran daily nonprofit operations—while battling personal storms: medical issues, mental health struggles, and sleepless nights that would’ve broken most.
But in just 18 months, I mobilized over $31,000 in support—mostly in-kind—from more than 40 corporate partners, including Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Raising Cane’s, and Chick-fil-A. I directed 91% of all resources straight into the mission. I built partnerships. I served meals. I inspired crowds. And most importantly—I changed lives.
Through those efforts, over 170 at-risk youth received top honors from the White House, U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Education, the State of Texas, and the City of Houston. My motivational presentations have reached more than 700 people, and my programs have served over 800 meals to underserved youth and their families—proof that dignity doesn’t require a dollar, just heart.
I also led a groundbreaking initiative that brought together all five At-Large Houston City Council Members’ offices to honor 100 students with Honorable Mention Certificates—recognizing their growth, affirming their value, and reshaping how they see themselves.
Throughout all of this, the mission of Wise Up to Rise Up™ has never changed. It’s to bridge achievement gaps by connecting youth with mentors, recognition, and motivation that spark long-term success. By forming community partnerships and creating unforgettable moments, we make achievement visible, character admirable, and education exciting—especially for those who’ve been overlooked or underestimated.
At Wise Up To Rise Up, I challenge students to see themselves at the top—not just surviving, but leading in science, literature, computing, public service, athletics, and the arts. I don’t believe in “saving” kids. I believe in helping them realize they were never broken. They were brilliant. They just needed to be seen.
With nearly 7,000 volunteer hours logged, the foundation now works across 752 square miles of underserved communities in Texas—spanning from the northwest to the south. And with every mile, we’re reminding youth that potential doesn’t belong to privilege—it belongs to effort, to hope, to vision.
To date, Wise Up to Rise Up has received over 20 honors, awards, and distinctions—from city proclamations to national recognition. Personally, I’ve received over 30 awards, including a U.S. Presidential Gold Medal, a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, seven Congressional Honors, and an appointment as an Admiral in the Texas Navy by the Governor. In 2025, I was nominated for the Tiffany D. Thomas Community Impact Leader Award by the Houston Area Urban League Young Professionals—an honor that means the world to me because it recognizes leadership rooted in service, not status. My work has been endorsed—directly and indirectly—by over 20 elected officials across every level of government.
But none of that has ever been about the spotlight. It’s always been about the unseen.
And what most people don’t know is that long before any of this… I was invisible, too.
There was a time when I walked the streets of Los Angeles and across California, searching for purpose, healing, and a reason to keep going. That journey—full of uncertainty, silence, and seemingly unanswered prayers—eventually led me to a youth shelter in California, where I was housed during one of the lowest points of my life. I had no idea that season of solitude was actually preparing me—planting the roots of a movement that would one day impact not just hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of lives.
And now, as this story finds its way back to California, I’m not returning with lights or cameras or applause. I’m simply bringing the truth. This is the update to a chapter that was never supposed to be forgotten.
I didn’t start with much—
Just a borrowed laptop, a heavy heart,
and a vision too bold to keep quiet.
No connections. No polished resume.
Just nights that stretched longer than my odds…
and the courage to build anyway.
What I built wasn’t just for me.
It was for the forgotten.
The underestimated.
The ones buried in statistics but born for greatness.
This isn’t just a nonprofit.
It’s a wake-up call.
A movement.
A living, breathing reminder that success belongs to the struggling too—and that a different story is possible.
Every award.
Every headline.
Every life changed—
isn’t just a win.
It’s proof that when purpose is personal,
you don’t need power to make an impact.
You just need heart that won’t quit.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
People often see the awards, the recognitions, the polished graphics—but they don’t see the pressure it took to hold it all together while I was falling apart. I built Wise Up to Rise Up during one of the hardest seasons of my life. I was battling mental health struggles, living without stable housing, and trying to pour into others from a place that didn’t always feel full.
There were nights I didn’t eat. Days I couldn’t focus. Moments when it felt like no one believed in the vision but me. I was applying for grants with borrowed Wi-Fi, editing promotional videos on a cracked screen, and pushing through speaking engagements while silently dealing with panic attacks.
Fundraising was especially hard—not just because of the lack of money, but because I didn’t come from a background where people knew how to give or where to start. I wasn’t someone with a fancy board or generational wealth backing me. I was just someone with a story—and a lot of faith.
And even as the momentum grew, so did the weight of responsibility. People started depending on me. Kids looked up to me. Elected officials started calling. But I was still figuring out how to heal while leading others.
But I didn’t quit.
Every setback, every “no,” every silent season gave me something I couldn’t have learned any other way: humility, empathy, and fight.
I don’t lead because I’m perfect.
I lead because I survived.
And I’m still here—not because it was easy,
but because the mission is worth it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about WISE UP TO RISE UP FOUNDATION, INC?
Our mission is to bridge achievement gaps by bringing together talented community leaders from Houston and beyond to empower underserved youth with the knowledge, skills, and guidance they need to rise above negative influences.
Through mentorship, recognition programs, motivational events, and creative community partnerships, we make achievement visible, character admirable, and education exciting—especially for those who’ve been overlooked.
At Wise Up To Rise Up, we introduce kids to the highest level of human achievement across every field—science, literature, computing, public service, athletics, the arts—and challenge them to imagine their place in that history.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wiseuptoriseup.education
- Instagram: everybodyloveskhris
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khrisfields/
- Other: https://Khristopherfields.com
