Chris George was the executive director of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Connecticut's largest refugee resettlement agency, from 2005-2023. Based in New Haven but working with community groups all over the nation, IRIS has welcomed and assisted thousands of refugees and immigrants. Chris played a central role in expanding the size and impact of IRIS and was a leader in promoting community-based private sponsorship models in Connecticut and throughout the country. IRIS is a founding member of the Welcome Corps consortium.

Prior to leading IRIS, Chris spent most of his professional life living and working in the Middle East, including 12 years in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He served as chief of party for a USAID democracy program with the Palestinian Legislative Council; executive director of Human Rights Watch – Middle East; director of the Save the Children programs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and manager of humanitarian assistance programs in south Lebanon with the American Friends Service Committee. His international career started in 1977 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Muscat, Oman.

Chris holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Arabic.