February 24, 1975 – April 9, 2020
In Memory of Christopher Schmitt
Christopher Schmitt brought to his work at Knowbility a love of the web and a passion for contributing to make it a more diverse, equitable, just, and welcoming medium. He was an esteemed and valued colleague, a brilliant and patient mentor, and a dearly beloved friend. He led the development of Knowbility’s virtual workshop program and along with his partner, Ari Stiles, created what is now known as AccessU Online.
Generous supporters of the Christopher Schmitt Fund
- KLB Consulting
- Kye Hittle
- Emily Glover
- Shandra Lalley, Treehouse Foods
- Jenville
- Richard Grillotti
- Tony Chen
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Video Tributes
What others have said
Christopher had this incredible knack of being able to connect with you, whoever you were, wherever you were, and elevating the work that you did together.
I will miss his warm smile, dedication, expertise, and egoless attitude.
Christopher was exceptionally brilliant, but he was also kind and fun-loving and just such a rare combination of qualities and I just love him and will always miss him.
Christopher was a good person. I had the privilege of meeting him just two months before he left us. I didn’t know we’d have so little time. He set up one-on-one meetings with me when I started at Knowbility so that I could troubleshoot problems and also just feel connected to my coworkers while working remotely. No one asked him to do that. He set it up because he was kind and saw how much it would benefit me, which it did. While I was never able to meet him in person, I got to know him in our one on ones. He was funny. He had empathy for everyone. He could make you feel cool just by association.
Christopher started as one of my ‘web heroes.’ I read his blog, bought his CSS books and took his advice to become a better developer. He then became my advocate and cheerleader, encouraging me to give workshops and speak at conferences. Then he became my friend, who introduced me to Texas BBQ and good bad movies. Then he was my confidant who I could talk to about moving away from self-employment and the fears of my unknown career future. Then he was my coworker who told me weekly that I was doing a good job and was a sounding board who would always turn my frustrations into laughs. I miss him every day.
I cannot recall a meeting where Christopher was not smiling, where he didn’t have a funny and/or insightful comment. He rarely took compliments for himself without highlighting the accomplishments of others in the team. He was just such a good person.
Christopher has touched so many of us with his kindness and positivity. The world needs more Christophers, not fewer. But here we are.
Photos of Christopher
Photos by Brook Pifer, Annie Ray, and Ari Stiles