Chris’s interest in birds goes back to his very early days. He grew up in Raleigh, NC and joined the Raleigh Bird Club when he was 14. As an intern for the North Carolina Museum of Natural History he traveled throughout North Carolina doing bird identification from 1974-1977. Chris completed his Ph.D. in zoology from Oregon State University in 1982 and became an assistant professor of biology at Brevard College that same year.

From 1984 to 1998 he served as a professor at Coastal Carolina University, where he taught biology, animal behavior, ornithology and marine ecology. He conducted shorebird surveys with the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and worked as an environmental consultant from 1986-1994.

Chris began to work with Betsy and Jim Chaffin on Spring Island as an environmental consultant in 1993. He also conducted bird workshops for members. In 1998 he left academia to become the first full-time Director of the Spring Island Trust and also became the Director of the LowCountry Institute when it was founded that same year. Now retired, Chris continues to contribute to conservation in the Lowcountry as director emeritus.