Christine Petit

Christine Petit

Christine Petit, who recently completed her first semester as a sociology professor at CSU Long Beach, co-founded the Long Beach Time Exchange in 2010 to help people share their skills and talents with one another, with time — rather than money — as the unit of exchange. “When I learned about time banking, I knew Long Beach was ripe for the idea,” she says. “We have such a diverse community, with so many different backgrounds and skills. We adopted the time-banking model because it recognizes that everyone has worth and something to contribute to the community.” Christine also serves on the steering committee for the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community, which works to increase political participation by Long Beach residents. Recently the Coalition organized Long Beach’s first-ever People’s State of the City community forum, helping to qualify for the November ballot a “living wage” initiative for Long Beach hotel workers.