Christopher Sands

Christopher Sands is Director of the Center for Canadian Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. He also co-chairs the SAIS Academy for North America, an executive education initiative with Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan. His current research focuses on the Second Century of U.S.–Canadian Relations, a long-term initiative examining the future of one of the world’s closest bilateral partnerships.

At SAIS, Dr. Sands has served as Interim Director of the Latin American Studies Program, Faculty Lead for Technology and Innovation, and as the school’s representative to the Johns Hopkins University Research Administration Faculty Advisory Committee. He is Lead Editor of the Encyclopedia of U.S.–Canadian Relations (Sage CQ Press, forthcoming 2027) and co-editor of Canada and the United States: Differences That Count (5th ed., University of Toronto Press, 2023) and Canada and the United States: Sovereignty or Shared Institutions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Beyond SAIS, Dr. Sands is a Visiting Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, where he leads the USMCA Initiative. He also leads the Canada Seminar at the U.S. Department of State’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center and the “How Washington Works” seminar for the Canada School of Public Service.

He holds a BA from Macalester College and an MA and PhD from Johns Hopkins University. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he is often mistaken for a Canadian.