Carl Chapman has had a long and impressive career. These professional moments are drawn on a backdrop of his personal journey, which has largely informed who he is and what he has done. This overall context shows Carl to be innovative, persistent and talented.
His story starts in 1959. He was born in San Antonio where he lived with his family for a year. After that time, Carl’s family made a big move to California, and they settled in Mariposa. Mariposa is a thriving western city, and Carl grew up in a vibrant community with strong cultural ties. His early education was engaging and productive, and Carl’s innate curiosity was encouraged and fostered during this time.
By the late 1960s, Carl’s family settled in nearby Wawona. As a young man, Carl got a coveted summer job at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. Located in Yosemite National Park, this was an excellent place for Carl to work. It afforded him plenty of real world experiences, and he learned to become a hard worker at a very young age. The position also suited his love of the outdoors. He fell in love with the wonders of Yosemite, learning to ski at Badger Pass and hanging out at the Ansel Adams Gallery.
Despite this affinity for Southern California, Carl made a move to Arizona with his family in 1974. Carl started high school in Parker. At this point, Carl naturally began to focus on his academic pursuits. He was only 14 when he took his first class at Arizona Western College. It was a course in broadcasting. Within years, he had his commercial radio operator license from the FCC. Not many teenagers accomplish this feat, but Carl knew he was no ordinary child from a very young age.
Carl’s ambitions only began to grow. With his license, he snagged a job at a local television station, working as a videographer. He also worked as an engineering assistant at a local radio station. All of this happened before he graduated from high school. His unrelenting ambition was a telltale sign of things to come.
It was 1978 when the young Carl secured his high school diploma. Eager to make his mark on the world, Carl returned to his roots and moved back to Yosemite Valley. Here, he sought work within the park once more, nabbing a position at the Yosemite Park and Curry Company. While Carl loved his time in Yosemite, he knew that he needed to continue his education. Therefore, in 1979, he started his coursework at Northern Arizona University.
During his time in Flagstaff, Carl studied broadcasting. However, he challenged himself during his undergraduate coursework. He took a wide variety of classes, and he especially enjoyed his studies of audio and video short stories. It was here that he learned about the art of story making, spending countless hours creating and critiquing such content. This love of stories would spark a lifelong passion.
Carl graduated with his broadcasting degree with an emphasis on creative film and media. With his degree in hand, he took his first professional job at KNAZ in Flagstaff. Here, he worked as a videographer. With his skill, expertise and passion, Carl did not stay in Flagstaff long. Soon, Carl landed a job outside of Phoenix. This position was perhaps an unexpected match for Carl. He started as an operations manager under the employment of Service Corporation of America.
This was an interesting time to be involved with SCA. During Carl’s tenure at SCA, the company became publicly traded and shifted its focus to waste disposal. Its profits skyrocketed during the 1970s, and Carl had a front row seat for all of it.
Despite this success, Carl was never one to be easily satisfied. Therefore, Carl continued his career and relocated to Tempe. In 1983, he made his next move in Phoenix, accepting a job in the Washington Elementary School District. Here, he worked as an instructional technologist. Among his various accomplishments in Phoenix, Carl was particularly proud of his installation of advanced Acorn computers throughout the district. Within several years, Carl had moved on to Mohave Community College as the Director of Telecommunications. He also served on the Arizona Articulation Task Force, which played an essential part in Arizona’s educational landscape.
Carl’s upward trajectory did not stop there. It was 1991 when he was hired as the manager of media services at Arizona State University. As one of the largest universities in the state, ASU was an apt home for Carl, and he worked hard to keep the sprawling technological needs of the university in check.
For many, such a position would be the height of their career. Carl, however, was not satisfied. With a desire to push himself further, Carl went back to school in 1994. With complete dedication to his studies, Carl earned his master’s of education degree. This degree would help him lead other educators, influencing the direction of academics for the next generation.
With his graduate degree secured, Carl continued to pursue his professional ambitions. Over the next few years, he took different jobs at Thunderbird Graduate School of International Business and American Interconnection University. While he thoroughly valued his time in academia, Carl still remembered his early passion for storytelling and broadcasting. Therefore, in 2000, he made a dramatic career shift. He started working for Vivendi. Vivendi is a French mass media conglomerate, and Carl had the chance to hone his skills as a writer, producer and executive producer. Much of the content he worked with was still related to his academic career, and he had a big part in Curriculum Advantage, which focused on training teachers for online classrooms. Other projects included Class Works and Hyperstudio.
Carl has always been someone with diverse interests. It is probably not a surprise that he took another career turn in the early 2000s. In 2003, he accepted a position as an associate broker at West USA Realty. It was a career he found he enjoyed substantially, which is why he continued his professional training in that direction. He quickly earned his board membership and obtained a real estate broker license in Arizona. With this backing, Carl was officially a Realtor.
His time in real estate was meaningful, but it was not the endgame for Carl. In 2009, Carl explored his interest in marketing and took the job of Director of Digital Marketing at Wiley Efficient Learning. With this position, Carl learned the ins and outs of SEO marketing. He worked with major companies like Petsmart, iCrossing, Thomson Reuters and Channel Intelligence to optimize their online presence.
With his interest in storytelling, Carl did not keep his professional career to SEO marketing exclusively. He also began to work as a writer and web publisher. With his natural talent and ample experience, Carl was soon doing work for a number of websites. This includes MyAlaskan.com, Arizonan.com, Divorceknowledgebase.com and DUIWise.com. He works hard to create powerful online content that informs readers on advanced topics while still scoring well with search engines.
For as busy as Carl has been in his career, one might think he has time for nothing else. However, Carl is fully committed to volunteer work and community endeavors. In fact, Carl is a founding member of Katmai Conservancy. He is also a board member of the Reel Project. Through these organizations, Carl is able to use his interests and talents for good causes that help people around the world.
Clearly, this is not the end of the story for Carl. He has been working hard all his life, and there is no doubt he will continue to pursue the things that matter to him. As he moves forward, he will do so with the innovation, persistence and talent that has defined his life so far.