About Me
Photo credit: Sara Acharya Photography
Chris Palmer is a teacher, speaker, author, and environmental/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 the Everglade swamps.
Until his retirement in 2018, Chris served on American University’s full-time faculty as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence. In 2004, he founded AU’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking at the School of Communication, which seeks to inspire a new generation of filmmakers and media experts to create informative, ethically sound, and entertaining work that makes a difference.
Chris serves as president of the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, which produces and funds IMAX films on conservation issues. MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world’s largest and most successful producer of IMAX films.
Over the past thirty years, Chris has spearheaded the production of more than 300 hours of original programming for prime time television and the IMAX film industry. His films have been broadcast on numerous channels, including Animal Planet, the Disney Channel, PBS, and TBS. His IMAX films include Whales, Wolves, Dolphins, Bears, Coral Reef Adventure, and Grand Canyon Adventure. In the course of his career, he has worked with the likes of Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, and Ted Turner.
He has jumped out of helicopters and worked on an Israeli kibbutz. He was a boxing champion in high school.
And for cheap theatrics, he will do a handstand if you ask.