Christopher Michel

About Christopher Michel

Christopher Michel is a photographer, explorer, and entrepreneur whose work focuses on the people pushing the boundaries of science, exploration, and human knowledge.After serving as a Naval Flight Officer in the U.S. Navy flying the P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, Chris earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and went on to found several early internet companies. He founded Military.com, one of the first large online communities for members of the U.S. military and their families, and later founded Affinity Labs, which built professional online communities. Both companies had successful outcomes.Chris has helped launch and build multiple technology ventures and has been an active angel investor and advisor to early-stage companies. His entrepreneurial journey is the subject of a Harvard Business School case study, and he is one of the entrepreneurs profiled in The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Murphy.He has served on numerous nonprofit and corporate boards, including the USO, the USS Arizona Memorial Foundation, the United States Navy Memorial Foundation, the Marine Corps University Foundation, the U.S. Naval Institute, Castlight Health, IDG, EZBoard, and Dale Carnegie.Today, Chris works primarily as a photographer and storyteller documenting scientists, explorers, and innovators. He serves as the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he is creating a long-term portrait project highlighting many of the world’s leading scientists. He is also the Artist-in-Residence at The Long Now Foundation, an organization dedicated to long-term thinking and civilization-scale projects.His photographs have reached millions of people, appearing in magazines, books, album covers, and even the screens people glance at each morning.Chris is a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and a member of the Explorers Club. He serves on the board of CatchLight and advises the Union of Concerned Scientists.He is also an adventure guide with Natural World Safaris and teaches photography through the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.He is currently working on Polar, a book with travel writer Pico Iyer exploring the landscapes, science, and human stories of the polar regions, alongside ongoing photographic work documenting scientists, explorers, and extreme environments around the world.

Experience

1. Artist-in-residence

   The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

   Mar 2021 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US

   As Artist-in-Residence at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, I photograph and document some of the world’s leading scientists, engineers, and medical innovators. The role centers on creating portraits and narratives that reveal the people behind discovery, translating complex scientific work into human stories that broader audiences can see and understand.The work forms part of a growing visual archive of contemporary science and contributes to my broader New Heroes portrait series, which highlights individuals pushing the boundaries of knowledge and exploration. By combining photography and storytelling, the project helps make the culture of science more visible, personal, and accessible to the public.

Education

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  BA

  1985 — 1989

• Harvard Business School

  MBA, MBA

  1996 — 1998

Skills

• Management
• Team Building
• Management Consulting
• Ceos
• Strategic Partnerships
• Product Marketing
• Online Advertising
• Executive Management
• Enterprise Software
• Nonprofits
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Fine Art Photography
• Product Management
• Entrepreneurship
• Mobile Devices
• New Business Development
• Venture Capital
• Sem
• SEO
• Corporate Development
• Military
• Competitive Analysis
• Start-Ups
• Leadership
• Social Media
• Digital Media
• Board of Director Experience
• Angel Investing
• Strategic Planning
• Analytics
• Mobile Applications
• Blogging
• Lead Generation
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Business Strategy
• Marketing Strategy
• Saas
• Marketing
• Entrepreneur
• Online Marketing