Travis founded the Prometheus Institute in 2003 as a means to connect the vast reach and power of industrial and capital markets with the technologies necessary to sustain and develop long-term economic well-being for people around the world. Travis is currently the Editor-in-Chief of PVNews, the solar energy industry's oldest newsletter, and is the author of Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry published by MIT Press. He is also a partner at Atlas Capital, a hedge fund based in Cambridge, MA.

Prior to founding the Prometheus Institute, Travis was a partner at Steel Partners II, L.P., a hedge fund based in New York City focused on the acquisition, growth, and sale of small publicly traded and privately owned businesses. In this capacity, Travis served as both a board member and active management participant in these types of businesses in industries ranging from industrial filters to fertilizer distributors to financial service providers. Travis has worked for the Federal Reserve Bank, has lectured at top Universities including Columbia University, Duke University, New York University, and Harvard University on finance, entrepreneurship, and alternative energy economics.