From Air Force to Attorney
Christopher B. Elam hails from Evanston, Illinois, in the suburbs of Chicago, and upon graduation from high school he entered the US Air Force Academy graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Aeronautical Engineering. He served for 20 years in the United States Air Force, starting as engineer and personnel officer prior to pilot training. He tracked into the helicopter program and flew Combat Search and Rescue HH-60G Pavehawk for the majority of his military career.
While serving in the Air Force, Chris earned a Master’s of Science in Technology Management and was eventually promoted to the rank of Major. Upon retiring, Chris worked as a Training Program Manager and Instructor Pilot for the United Arab Emirates military pilot training program, and as an Air Advisor trainer to the Iraqi Army.
His next challenge was to start and run a franchise tutoring company, but he always wanted to return to school to become a lawyer. Chris shifted gears and ran his tutoring company from 2016 until the COVID pandemic, while simultaneously going to the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2017. A three-year program, Chris finished his Juris Doctorate in just two and one-half years, including a one-month international law program in Madrid, Spain.
After graduating, Chris worked in the field of Constitution Law litigation defense, at a non-profit working on housing stability for the at-risk population of Albuquerque, a transactional/contract attorney for the city at the Albuquerque International Sunport, and finally into private practice.