Walter is head of art history at Santa Monica College and specializes in American Art and Contemporary Art. His current interests center on all things digital in relation to visual literacy. He is the vice chair of the Arts Commission and the chair of the Public Art Committee for the city of Santa Monica. He is on the Board for the Santa Monica Arts Foundation and is a former board member of the Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles. He completed his graduate work in 2000 at the University of Southern California and has worked at the Getty Center along with being an independent art advisor and exhibition curator.
Walter is the husband of artist Rachel Lachowicz and the father of 3 incredible young women, Emmerson, Tatum & Finley. Sometimes he holds office hours at the beach with his longtime friend “Big Wave Dave” Boren of VB Surf fame.