Chris Wemmer grew up in San Francisco and the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in biology from San Francisco State University and his PhD in zoology with a major in ethology and minors in ecology and physiology from the University of Maryland, Wemmer worked at the Chicago Zoological Society as curator of small mammals and large carnivores for two years. In 1974 he was hired by the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park, where he was tasked with managing the newly acquired Conservation and Research Center, now known as the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, located in Front Royal, Virginia. Following a year and a half assignment in Washington, DC, as the zoo's acting director, Wemmer continued the long journey of developing an internationally recognized program in conservation science. Over the span of thirty years, the center's programs in captive breeding and husbandry of endangered species grew to include robust initiatives in research, environmental education, and international training in wildlife conservation. Despite his administrative duties, Wemmer has always remained a boy naturalist at heart.