Kris Sydney Oswalt

June 19th, 1957 - July 4th, 2025

Memorial

Mementos

Kris Sydney Oswalt, Ph.D. passed away peacefully on July 4, 2025, in Singapore. He was 68 years old.

Kris was born on June 19, 1957, in Lafayette, Indiana, USA to Sylvia Jean (Eidemiller) Oswalt and Dallas Leon Oswalt.

Kris spent most of his life living abroad. His early years in Nigeria left an indelible impact on him. While he resided in Singapore, his heart was always in India, where he spent most of his life - first in Hyderabad and later in Delhi.

Kris was a graduate of Purdue University (B.S.) and Syracuse University (MBA) and earned his Ph.D. from the International School of Management.

Kris joined Community Systems Foundation (CSF) in 1987 and became President in 2003. Under his leadership, Kris transformed CSF, and the organization made lasting contributions to sustainable development. CSF partnered to make an impact with organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO. Through these partnerships, Kris oversaw work on data-driven solutions that reached communities in more than 130 countries.

Colleagues admired Kris as a visionary who combined deep and broad expertise in wide- ranging areas with deep empathy and generosity. He championed community-engaged development strategies, insisting that sustainable progress must be rooted in inclusive and equitable processes. His leadership was not defined by position, but by character, vision, and the positive change he helped bring into the world.

Kris left a lasting impact on members of the CSF family and countless partners across the globe who will carry his vision, perspective and approach to life and work in all that they do.

Kris loved to travel, to share a good meal and to tell incredible stories he had collected over the years. He was meticulously organized, generous and soft-spoken.

Kris is survived by his sister Karen Hott, his nieces and nephew and his close friend, Rahul Dev. Kris was preceded in death by his mother and father.

In accordance with his wishes, Kris’ cremains were immersed in the Ganges River, honoring Hindu traditions. CSF colleagues and friends will celebrate Kris’s life and his accomplishments during a memorial service planned in Delhi, India.

You are invited to share your memories, messages, and photos in honor of Kris on this remembrance page.

Tributes

Share a favorite memory, send condolences, and honor Kris’s life with a heartfelt message.

Lu Wei

Hi Kris, we have been in Kenya for 3 months, retired to our beloved home. You had chosen India as home, and we chose Africa. I wish I could take you to come local restaurants to share the flavor with you! Rahul, sending love and strength.

Published December 7th, 2025

Cecil Shoemaker

I knew Kris during high school at Lafayette Jefferson High School. He was a bass player in our orchestra. He also played the pipe organ. We both practiced at Immanuel UCC down the street from Jefferson High School. He practiced most school days before I practiced. I remember him preparing to play for his sister’s wedding. We toured with the orchestra through Kentucky to Florida during Spring Break of our junior year. While enjoying a swim in the ocean, he was stung by a jellyfish. It was scary to all of us. He used to regale us of his time in Hyderabad, India. It did not surprise me of his death in Singapore, but I was saddened that he was unable to attend our 50th High School Reunion August 1-2. I learned of his early passing at a reunion committee meeting. He will be missed by many. He was always easy to talk with.

Published September 4th, 2025

Lakshmi Balaji

How did you meet Kris?

I have known Kris since mid-80's. We first met in the mid-80s when Bill and Kris were part of the ICDS MIS working group on behalf of USAID for the USAID assisted districts of Panchmahals in Gujarat and Chandrapur in Maharashtra. I was a part of the Central Technical Committee for ICDS (at AIIMS, India) and as the member-secretary of the working group, Kris was a mover on the development of a system for integrating the monitoring information in ICDS particularly for tracking malnutrition through a very elegant mapping system. Soon, in 1989, when i joined UNICEF, we teamed up to expand the system to ten states and the rest as they say was history in ICDS. Then again when the NutritionInfo had been created with Kris and CSF efforts, we started working from 1993 to convert the UNICEF Nutrition conceptual framewokr based database into the first ever ChildInfo. When i challenged him to make ChildInfo a system that can be used as a user by all sectors, but also to be able to enter data for the sectors that they are themselves strong in, he came up with the innovation using the features of just released Microsoft Windows 1995 and move the entire system to Microsoft Office from the Foxpro for DOS. He also got for UNICEF over 100 free licenses of ESRI Mapping softwares. ChildInfo with his efforts soon grew beyond India initially to the seven countries of SAARC and later to other regions in Asia and Africa. Soon with the Track two reforms initiated by Kofi Annan, we together in 1999 embarked on transforming ChildInfo to DevInfo and together with the Planning Commission, RGI office and Ministry of Statistics conceived of and developed the first ever DevInfo, a common UN database based on 12 World Conferences and Summits indicators. When I moved to Nairobi in 2001, we worked together again managing globally the ChildInfo as well as transplanting DevInfo in the neighbouring Tanzania where Sally Fegan Wyles (former UNICEF Representative) and now a UN Resident Coordinator to take DevInfo at country level across the entire UN system. DevInfo too went global; thanks to the innovation and leadership from Kris and his team for the technological breakthroughs, UNICEF leadership (Carol Bellamy) offered to the UN SG DevInfo as a common UN database to the entire UN system. Another history making initiative that Kris was instrumental in. Again, when i moved to New York in 2004, the ChildInfo/DevInfo global workplan and management moved to New York with our friend and colleague Nicolas Pron working closely with Kris. Kris has always been someone who connected development with technology and always kept himself not just uptodate but constantly bringing in new vision and energy to the work of those in the humanitarian field and bringing new innovative solutions to the rights based work of UNICEF and many other agencies on the ground. It was again our fortune that our paths crossed professionally again when the last seven to eight years, we were collaborating on EQUIST, a system for addressing health inequities. Kris had enormous energy and constantly brought new ideas and had been a beacon of innovation and change for bringing about evidence to make our plans effective and efficient. Beyond the professional front, he was a great friend, extremely warm, compassionate and resourceful on almost every field that many of us as internationals face in various countries and regions. Above all, he was very patient through all the bureaucratic red-tape and procedures that most of us have dished out while working with him. Almost everyone who works with him, feels inspired, motivated and energetic to do more. May he continue to guide everyone that he has touched in so many countries and so many different areas. It is difficult to even imagine that we will not hear him anymore with his friendly voice and the 'hi, there' on the other end of the phone. Kris, thank you for everything and being so much a part of my professional and personal life. I will miss your friendship, smile and enthusiasm.

Published July 27th, 2025

Adrian

Did you ever learn something about Kris that surprised you?

Mr Kris was a friend of mine, he was very generous and very kind. Im sorry i didnt know Mr Kris. Rest in power🙏

Published December 6th, 2025

Jeeveeta Soobarah Agnihotri

I have been reflecting deeply on how to put into words this profound loss. But words often fall short. The passing of Mr. Oswalt is an incommensurable loss — to all of us, and to me personally. He had a remarkable influence on my professional journey. He led with kindness, with a heart larger than life, always moving forward with quiet determination and the unwavering belief that our work mattered. He even completed his PhD during the COVID-19 pandemic — a feat that speaks volumes about his resilience, discipline, and lifelong commitment to learning. That single act, like so many others, quietly inspired those around him. For years, he shaped the perspective of a newcomer to the development world — not just in understanding the impact of our work, but in grasping the power and purpose of data. He gave meaning to my professional life, simply because he believed in me. I will deeply miss our casual chats in French, his calm smiles, his quirky remarks, the spirited discussions in the conference room, his generosity of spirit, and the way he shared his vast knowledge — always laced with little anecdotes that made us laugh or reflect. Is engraved in my mind the last Team call we had a few months ago...he was so full of energy, had so much to share. He lit up the virtual room! It was beautiful! This is not a goodbye. While Mr Oswalt may now be in a better place, the values he instilled in us will continue to guide our path — reminding us to move with purpose and with impact. We now carry the profound responsibility of advancing the dreams he was passionate about. A bientôt..till we meet next.