Meet Chris Potter
I’m a dad, a marketing entrepreneur, an actor, and a community advocate, but more than anything, I’m someone who believes people matter and that showing up for your community is not optional.
A lot of that started with my mom. She owned a toy store when I was growing up, and every year I helped her wrap hundreds of presents for local children who might not otherwise have had anything to open at Christmas. I saw early on that kindness was not supposed to be abstract. It was supposed to be practical. You found a need, and you did something about it.
I also watched my mom fight when systems were not working for the people she loved. When my brother was not getting the support he needed in school because programs simply did not exist for him, she pushed back. When I struggled with my own education, she did the same for me. Watching that taught me something that has stayed with me ever since: advocacy is not about being loud for the sake of it. It is about refusing to accept that people should be left behind because helping them is inconvenient.
That belief carried into my own work in the community. In the early days of COVID-19, I saw how isolated, overwhelmed, and unheard many people were feeling. I started a Facebook group to give people a place to connect, share concerns, support one another, and feel a little less alone. That group has since grown to nearly 1,700 members and has become a space focused on community events, support, and information sharing. Together, we have shown up at local events and stood in support of diverse communities facing opposition.
Chris' Background
My background has always been rooted in communication and community connection. I worked as a community producer with YourTV, including working directly with the television crew covering Peterborough Petes hockey. I also wrote, produced, and edited a CBC/Cogeco TV Remembrance Day broadcast that was shared with Canadian troops around the world, and later helped produce a second Remembrance Day special for YourTV featuring author Ted Barris.
Community involvement has shaped much of my life. I was a founding member of Volunteer Peterborough. I took part in Porch Pirates for Kawartha Food Share. While working as a general manager at a restaurant in downtown Toronto, I organized a Thanksgiving meal and gathering for families staying at Ronald McDonald House. I also created and hosted a podcast focused on mental health, where I interviewed experts and leaders working in that space because I believe honest conversations can make a real difference in people’s lives.
Alongside that work, I’ve been a professional actor for more than a decade, with over 30 television credits, numerous commercials, and roles in award-winning comedy shorts. That includes an acclaimed NHL playoffs commercial in 2024 and a Super Bowl commercial for Charm Diamond Centres. Acting has taught me how to listen, how to connect, and how to understand people from all walks of life, which is not a bad skill set if you actually plan on representing the public.
At the heart of it all, I care deeply about people feeling seen, heard, and supported. That is what has driven me in my work, in my advocacy, and in my community involvement. It is also what drives me now.