Eric Greitens

Navy SEAL, award-winning author and Founder and CEO of The Mission Continues

Photographer, writer, Navy SEAL, humanitarian and chief executive office – many words are used to describe Eric Greitens. Author of the 2014 common reader, "The Heart and the Fist," Greitens is also one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Humanitarian and soldier

Eric Greitens was born and raised in Missouri, where he was educated in public schools. After studying at Duke University, he was selected as a Rhodes and a Truman Scholar. Greitens went on to attend the University of Oxford, where he earned a master’s degree and a PhD. He has worked as a humanitarian volunteer, documentary photographer and researcher in Rwanda, Cambodia, Albania, Mexico, India, Bosnia and Bolivia.

Greitens also served as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was deployed four times during the Global War on Terrorism. In 2005, he was appointed by the president to serve as a White House Fellow. Greitens’ military awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

His mission continues

After returning from Iraq in 2007, Greitens donated his combat pay to found The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit organization that challenges veterans to serve in communities across America.

As CEO, Greitens has been recognized as one of the most innovative leaders in America. In 2013, TIME magazine named Greitens to its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and most recently, Fortune magazine recognized him as one of 50 greatest leaders in the world.

Author and photographer

A photographer and writer, Greitens is the author of three books. His first book, “Strength & Compassion,” was recognized as ForeWord Magazine’s Photography Book of the Year. Greitens’ second book, “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL” was a New York Times Bestseller, and his latest book, “The Warrior’s Heart,“ was recognized as one of the Best Teen Books of 2012 by Barnes & Noble and Kirkus Reviews.

Greitens’ work has been covered by national media outlets including NPR, CNN, Fox, CBS, The Colbert Report, the TODAY Show, The Daily Show, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Greitens currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife, Sheena.