Chris Palmer is an author, speaker, wildlife filmmaker, conservationist, educator, professor, grandfather, and end-of-life activist. He devoted most of his professional life to conservation, and now focuses his energy on one of life’s most profound frontiers: aging, death, and dying.
Bloomsbury published his tenth book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life, in October 2024. Chris is a trained hospice volunteer and the founder and director of an ongoing aging, death, and dying group for the Bethesda Metro Area Village.
He currently serves as vice chair of the board of Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice, vice president of the board of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Maryland & Environs, and as a member of the Advisory Council for the Maryland Office of Cemetery Oversight. He also serves on the boards of Final Exit Network and the Bethesda Metro Area Village. He has served as president of the Green Burial Association of Maryland, vice president of the Hemlock Society of San Diego, and a board member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance.
In 2021, Chris and his wife, Gail Shearer, created and funded the Finishing Strong Award with the Washington Area Village Exchange (WAVE) to encourage villages to hold deeper, more frequent conversations about end-of-life issues. WAVE is the largest regional village organization in the nation.
Chris is a sought-after speaker who regularly presents pro bono workshops and lectures on aging, death, and dying.
In parallel with his work in end-of-life education, Chris serves as president of the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, which produces and funds IMAX films focused on science and conservation. MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world’s largest and most successful producer of IMAX films.
Over a 35-year filmmaking career, Chris spearheaded the production of more than 300 hours of original programming for prime-time television and the IMAX industry, earning numerous honors, including two Emmy Awards and an Academy Award nomination. He has worked with Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Ted Turner, and many other leading figures. His IMAX films include Whales, Wolves, Dolphins, Bears, Coral Reef Adventure, and Grand Canyon Adventure.
Along the way, Chris swam with dolphins and whales, came face-to-face with sharks and Kodiak bears, camped with wolf packs, and waded hip-deep through the Everglades.
His books also include Finding Meaning and Success: Living a Fulfilled and Productive Life (Bloomsbury, 2021)—proceeds from all of Chris’s books fund scholarships for students at American University.
Beginning in 2004, Chris served on American University’s full-time faculty as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence until his retirement in 2018. While at AU, he founded and directed the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at the School of Communication and created and taught the popular course Design Your Life for Success.
Chris and his wife, Gail, have lived in Bethesda, Maryland, for over 50 years, where they raised three daughters and now delight in nine grandchildren. Earlier in life, Chris was a stand-up comic for five years. He holds advanced degrees from University College London and Harvard University. His life has included jumping out of helicopters, working on an Israeli kibbutz, and winning a high-school boxing championship.
Today, Chris is learning to juggle, draw, dance, play tennis, and play the piano. He practices handstands for exercise, keeps a daily gratitude journal, and has written a 26-page personal mission statement.
More About Chris
Chris’s filmmaking career began in 1983 when he founded National Audubon Society Productions, a nonprofit film company within the National Audubon Society, which he led as president and CEO for eleven years. In 1994, he founded National Wildlife Productions, a nonprofit multimedia company within the National Wildlife Federation, serving as president and CEO for another decade.
His first two books focused on wildlife filmmaking: Shooting in the Wild (2010) and Confessions of a Wildlife Filmmaker (2015). These were followed by Raise Your Kids to Succeed: What Every Parent Should Know (2017) and Now What, Grad? Your Path to Success After College (first edition 2015; second edition 2018). He then authored College Teaching at Its Best: Inspiring Students to Be Enthusiastic, Lifelong Learners (2019) and Finding Meaning and Success (2021). Achieving a Good Death followed in 2024. Bloomsbury Publishing is his current publisher.
Bethesda Communications Group published Love, Dad in 2018, a 700-page collection of letters written to his daughters, and Open Heart: When Open-Heart Surgery Becomes Your Best Option in 2021, co-written with his daughter, Christina, a family physician. Chris and Christina have also co-authored half a dozen children’s books on health-related topics. His next book is on the relationship between humor and wisdom.
Chris gives pro bono presentations and workshops on living a meaningful and successful life; aging well; achieving a good death; living well to die well; medical aid in dying; decluttering and death cleaning; advance directives and dementia riders; memoir writing; legacy letters and ethical wills; funeral planning; green body disposition; and hospice care. In 2015, he delivered a TEDx talk on wildlife filmmaking at TEDxAmericanUniversity. During his years at AU, he also performed regularly as a stand-up comedian at Washington, DC comedy clubs for five years. In 2017, he founded and continues to direct a group on aging and dying well through the Bethesda Metro Area Village, where he also serves on the board.
Chris has received numerous honors, including the Frank G. Wells Award from the Environmental Media Association, the 2009 International Wildlife Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2010 Green Globe Award for Environmental Film Educator of the Decade, the 2011 IWFF Wildlife Hero of the Year Award, and the 2012 Ronald B. Tobias Award for Achievement in Science and Natural History Filmmaking Education. He also received American University’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching (2014), the University Film and Video Association Teaching Award (2015), and the 2015 International Wildlife Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.
Before entering filmmaking, Chris spent two decades as a Royal Navy officer, engineer, business consultant, energy analyst, environmental activist, chief energy advisor to a senior U.S. senator, and a political appointee at the Environmental Protection Agency under President Jimmy Carter. During his time on Capitol Hill, he was instrumental in founding the Alliance to Save Energy.
Chris holds a B.S. with First Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering, an M.S. in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from University College London, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. He was a Kennedy Scholar and a Harkness Fellow.
Born in Hong Kong, raised in England, and immigrating to the United States in 1972, Chris is married to Gail Shearer and is the father of three grown daughters—Kimberly, Christina, and Jennifer—and the grandfather of nine. Chris and Gail have endowed a scholarship for environmental film students at American University to honor his parents and support the next generation of filmmakers working to protect the planet.
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