Men To Watch 2025 honoree Christopher E. West

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Reverend Christopher Eugene West has faithfully and conspicuously served his country for more than three decades in the United States Army where he held both command and staff leadership positions in peace and wartime. He presently works as an online Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs and Strategic Communications for the Global College of Professional Military Education, Air University, located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Contemporaneously, he serves as a Board Member for Alpha Omega Veterans Services in Memphis, Tennessee, as a guest columnist for several major news media outlets, and as an Associate Minister and Evangelist at one of the oldest African American churches in the City of Memphis, First Baptist Church-Lauderdale.

Acknowledging his call to ministry at the tender age of ten, Reverend West has been continuously in the service of the Lord. As a servant of the Most High God, he has been an Associate Minister and Evangelist around the world from the Republic of Panama to the Republic of Korea all the way to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland.

He is a staunch believer in education as evident by him obtaining numerous degrees and certifications, including a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and English, with honors, from the University of Memphis; a Master of Arts degree in Management and Leadership from Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri; a Master of Public Management degree in Public Policy Analysis, from the University of Maryland at College Park; and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Geneva School of Business and Economics in Geneva, Switzerland. Currently, Reverend West is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree in Social Justice and Evangelism from Forge Theological Seminary in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

In addition to his academic pursuits, he still finds time to serve as a senior non-resident fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, District of Columbia; as a senior executive fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and as an academic sage to the Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. Without question, Reverend West is indeed a highly regarded scholar, orator, leader, mentor, public servant, manager, and most importantly, a man of God who is truly humble, sincere, and spiritually led. Moreover, he serves as a poignant reminder of the profound impact one individual can have when he or she commits to being an emissary for the Gospel of Christ. In a world that often shies away from the truth, he stands firm, unashamed, and ready to share the transformative power of God's Word to all who will hear and receive its life-changing message.