Chris Palmer

Chris Palmer is a retired professor, speaker, author, and an environmental and wildlife film producer who has swum with dolphins and whales, come face-to-face with sharks and Kodiak bears, camped with wolf packs, and waded hip-deep through Everglade swamps. Over the past 30 years, he has led the production of more than 300 hours of original programming for prime time television and the giant screen (IMAX) film industry. His films have been broadcast on numerous channels, including the Disney Channel, TBS Superstation, Animal Planet, and PBS. His IMAX films include Whales, Wolves, Dolphins, Bears, Coral Reef Adventure, and Grand Canyon Adventure. Chris is currently president of the One World Ocean Foundation, which has launched a $35 million global media initiative to save the oceans. He is also president of the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, which produces and funds IMAX films. From 2004 to 2018, he was with American University’s full-time faculty as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence at the School of Communication. There he founded the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, whose mission is to train filmmakers to produce films and new media that effectively strengthen the global constituency for conservation. His book, Shooting in the Wild: An Insider’s Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom, was published in 2010 by Sierra Club Books and has been widely praised.