Bryan Christy

For its 125th year anniversary, National Geographic called Bryan Christy's work one of ten ways National Geographic has changed the world. He is founder of the Special Investigations Unit at National Geographic, a National Geographic Society Fellow, an Explorer program television correspondent, and in 2014 was named National Geographic Society's Explorer of the Year. His Emmy-nominated film, Warlords of Ivory, in which he starred, was also a National Geographic cover story, Tracking Ivory, written by Christy, in which his team designed and built fake elephant tusks embedded with GPS systems to track terrorists smuggling ivory through central Africa. The film, which was shown at the United Nations, and launched the 2015 Jackson Hole Film Festival African Elephant summit, won numerous awards, including: 2016 Wildscreen "Green Oscars" winner: Best Presenter: Bryan Christy. 2016 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography In A Documentary (Toby Strong and JJ Kelley). The 2016 United Nations/C.I.T.E.S International Elephant Film Festival Winner: Issues and Solutions Award. The 2016 Tusk Conservation Achievement Award for Media and Film New York Wild Film Festival: Best Conservation Film. 2016 S.M.A.S.H.: Science Media Award winner: Best Conservation Film. Christy's 2012 National Geographic cover story Blood Ivory took readers inside China's ivory carving industry, revolutionized global ivory trade policy discussions, and was made into the National Geographic-PBS documentary feature film Battle for the Elephants, which won Best Conservation Film at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Christy is author of The Lizard King: the true crimes and passions of the world's greatest reptile smugglers (Twelve). In researching that book he was bitten between the eyes by a blood python, chased by a mother alligator, sprayed by a bird-eating tarantula, and ejaculated on by a Bengal tiger. Christy's print journalism has been anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and has appeared in Foreign Policy, National Geographic, Playboy, and law journals. His storytelling has been recognized by the Society of Environmental Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and he was named a Centennial Speaker by the US Department of Justice. His media appearances include The Daily Show, CNN's Amanpour, BBC, Al Jazeera America, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR's Fresh Air w Terry Gross, Nightline, PBS NewsHour, Special Report w Bret Baier, The Diane Rehm Show, Kilmeade & Friends. He began his professional career working for his father as a mortician's apprentice. Things got brighter, gradually, from there. He practiced as a certified public accountant in New York City and as a lawyer in Tokyo and Washington, DC where he worked on such topics as US-Japan supercomputer trade, Norwegian whaling, and the sale of light water nuclear reactors to North Korea. His education includes Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University Graduate School (FALCON Program), the University of Michigan Law School, and Tokyo University Law School (where he was a Fulbright Scholar). He is an Explorers Club Fellow.