Charis J Carmichael Braun grew up in New Ulm, MN. She earned her BA from Bethany Lutheran College, and her MFA from the New York Academy of Art (2008).

In 2020, she received grant from the Huntington Arts Council for her Beekeeper Portrait Project. Her work received a Juror’s Mention in Arborescent (Cutchogue, NY), as well as an Honorable Mention in Contemporary Realism (Smithtown, NY). She was was chosen as a Sing For Hope Piano Artist (2016); and received a Juror's Award for her work in Representational Art in the 21st Century (Hilo, HI, 2015). She has been published in PoetsArtists, The Huffington Post, LINEA: The Artist's Voice and Artists on Art.

As an arts administrator, Charis has managed two galleries in New York City, worked for the New York Academy of Art, The League Residency at Vyt (Art Students League of New York), and Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center. Charis teaches Art History at Bethany Lutheran College, and Farmingdale State College. Charis currently works and lives on Long Island, New York.