PHOTOJOURNALIST, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

J. Scott Applewhite is the senior photographer in the AP's Washington Bureau, focusing on Congress and national politics. He was regularly assigned to the White House for thirty years where his work helped the AP earn two Pulitzer Prizes. He's been honored with the White House News Photographers Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the Freedom of the Press Award from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

PHOTOJOURNALIST

Susan Biddle is a former Washington Post staff photographer. She began her career photographing for the Peace Corps and later worked as a staff photographer for the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Denver Post. Biddle left the Denver Post to become a White House photographer documenting the Presidency during the end of the Reagan administration and the entire George H. W. Bush administration. She has also freelanced and her work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Life, National Geographic and other publications worldwide. She has participated in various book projects including Day in the Life of America, Day in the Life of Thailand, Hong Kong - Here Be Dragons, Day in the Life of the American Woman and America at Home. Biddle has won awards with the White House News Photographers Association and National Press Photographers Association. She has been a judge for various contests as well as a teacher on various workshops and study-abroad programs.

PHOTO EDITOR, SMITHSONIAN

Jeff Campagna is a photo editor at Smithsonian and has been with the magazine since 2004. He works on a wide variety of features and has collaborated on numerous award-winning photo projects, receiving recognition from American Photography, NPPA, SPD and the World Press Photo Awards. He regularly contributes arts and culture pieces to Smithsonianmag.com. Jeff is an award-winning songwriter and a graduate of Bucknell University.

INDEPENDENT VISUAL JOURNALIST

Be it in the field chasing wild cattle in Patagonia, behind-the-desk editing the work of world-class visual journalists or mentoring creators from Azerbaijan to Venezuela, Nacho’s work specializes in empowering underrepresented voices.

Previously, he was the Executive Producer at Ripple Effect Images, spotlighting the transformative work of women around the globe. Before that, he was part of the award winning features team at Univision where his main focus was immigration and climate change. His work blends cinematic vision with editorial rigor, producing award-winning content for outlets including National Geographic, The New York Times, El Pais, NPR, UNHCR, the WHO and many others.

Currently, he's collaborating on special projects with Al Jazeera and partnering with non-profits dedicated to conservation and human rights.

LITTLE BLACK DOG PRODUCTIONS LLC

As Science Magazine’s Photography Managing Editor, Bill Douthitt transformed the publication’s picture use, hiring highly accomplished photographers to create striking covers and features depicting cutting edge science advances. Before joining Science, Bill was National Geographic Magazine’s Managing Editor for Special Editions, producing single issues on exploration, space, wildlife, religion, climate, energy, water issues and history. Over his National Geographic career, Bill was a designer, photographer, writer, and editor. He picture-edited over 200 stories, and wrote the December 2006 cover story on the Cassini Saturn mission. He created the first CD-ROM interactive prototype of National Geographic and led the magazine’s first web startup team. Bill also created the EarthPulse project, National Geographic’s first organization-wide initiative that united the print, television and digital divisions on producing media around shared environmental themes. Bill has a B.A. in communications from the University of Washington, and an M.A. in science writing from Johns Hopkins University.

THE EXPOSURE GROUP

Sharon Farmer has been a photojurnalist since student days at The Ohio State University as 0ur Choking Times photographer/managing editor. 13 years freelance at Washington Post, adjunct photo instructor @American & Howard Universities, Official White House Photographer/Director of White House Photography, exhibitor, lecturer. Photography work is my full time business.

INDEPENDENT PHOTO EDITOR

Jill Foley is an independent photo editor based in the Washington, DC area. Currently, she edits for The New York Times. She has also edited for National Geographic Books and Newsstand Special Editions, AARP, Discovery Communications, Smithsonian Magazine, and Education Week.

She is a graduate of Boston University's Masters in Photojournalism program, an alum of The Kalish Visual Editing Workshop, and is a member of Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW).

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER, THE BALTIMORE BANNER

Jessica Gallagher’s reporting and photos for a project about Baltimore's drug overdose crisis, published as a collaboration between The Banner and The New York Times, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2025. Prior to joining The Banner, Gallagher worked at The Greenville News, The Quad-City Times, and The Times-Georgian. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Professional Photography from the Brooks Institute.

PHOTO EDITOR, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Jasmine Goldband joined The Philadelphia Inquirer as a photo editor in Aug. 2022, after working for five years as the special projects photo editor for the Houston Chronicle in Texas. The Chronicle staff earned a Pulitzer nomination in 2018 for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Harvey.

Jasmine set high standards for visual journalism across departments in print and online, earning state and national awards each year. She has served as the local representative for the Online News Association and is involved in the National Press Photographers Association. A native of Pennsylvania, Jasmine previously worked as a photojournalist and visual editor in Pittsburgh.

FORMER ASSIGNMENT EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST

Veteran photo editor Jennifer Beeson Gregory recently retired from The Washington Post. She held multiple positions there, most recently editing all food-related imagery in Food and the award-wining Voraciously.com. Jennifer is a long-time portfolio reviewer for WPOW and Diversify Photo and is an alum of the Kalish Visual Editing Workshop. She has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and a M.A. from the George Washington University.

VIDEO PRODUCER AND EDITOR

Shweta Gulati (she/her) is a video producer and editor who has worked with clients including National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Adobe.

She spent nearly seven years on National Geographic’s video and immersive experiences team, leading production and editing for projects ranging from short explainers to long-form docs across platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and the National Geographic website. Her work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International, the Society of Publication Designers, and NPPA Best of Photojournalism awards.

Shweta combines visual storytelling, social engagement, and editorial expertise to create videos that resonate with audiences worldwide

PHOTOJOURNALIST, FOUR-TIME PULITZER PRIZE WINNER

Carol Guzy was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and lived there until 1978 when she completed her studies at Northampton County Area Community College, graduating with an Associate's degree in Registered Nursing. A change of heart led her to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida to study photography. She graduated in 1980 with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Photography.

She interned at The Miami Herald and upon graduation was hired as a staff photographer. She spent eight years there before moving to Washington, DC in 1988 where she became a staff photographer at The Washington Post through 2014. She is currently freelance.

She is the first journalist to receive a fourth Pulitzer Prize. She has been named Photographer of the Year for NPPA three times and nine times for WHNPA and has earned many other prestigious awards in her chosen profession. She specializes in long-form documentary projects and news stories, both domestic and international.

PHOTO ASSIGNMENT EDITOR AND COORDINATOR, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

I am the AFP photo assignment editor & coordinator for North America. I am always looking for curious, passionate, and disciplined new talent.

FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER

Olga Jaramillo, born in Colombia, is a visual storyteller based in the U.S. Informed by her career as an economist, she advanced into photography and brought her social awareness and experience in Latin American socioeconomic development into her visual work.

Through photography, short films, and text, she explores intricate relationships between identity, culture, and migration. Olga’s most recent work focuses on the intergenerational impact of migration on the families of migrant mothers from Central America. Her long-form multimedia documentary project “Dos Mundos” (“Two Worlds”) was awarded the inaugural Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW) Butterfly Grant in March 2024.

PHOTOGRAPHER/ STORY DEVELOPE

Karen Kasmauski’s career began with the Virginian Pilot newspaper as a staff photographer, winning numerous honors including runner up for Newspaper Photographer of the Year and placing in the Robert F. Kennedy Awards. Karen began freelancing for National Geographic Magazine, photographing 25 major stories. Geographic awarded her their prestigious Photographer in Residence position, leading to her first book IMPACT: From the Front lines of Global Health. That book, and a follow-on, NURSE: A World of Care were both nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in community service. Her most recent story on Black Midwives, Saving Lives was accepted by the prestigious Communication Arts Photography Annual. Her work with two colleagues on the history of Japanese War Brides is an exhibit with Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services.

Karen holds undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Religion from the University of Michigan. She was awarded a Knight Fellowship at Ohio University.

Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post

Olivier Laurent is the Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post, managing photo editors and staff photographers across the newsroom, with a specific emphasis on the international, climate, science and technology desks, as well as our live and breaking news operations. Previously, he was a senior photo assignment editor overseeing photo coverage across the international, climate and health & science desks, while also working with the organization’s network of worldwide correspondents and writers to offer a comprehensive international report.

PHOTOGRAPHER & EDUCATOR, NDEMAY MEDIA GROUP

Cheriss May is an acclaimed editorial and portrait photographer, selected by Peerspace as one of “The 12 Best Editorial Photographers in Washington, D.C.”. She has been published in The New York Times, The Times of London, on The White House website, and other publications. Her work is featured at Le Coin in Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC, the permanent collections of the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, NY, and has exhibited work at shows and galleries around the world. Cheriss is an educator, a Leica Ambassador, a mentor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and an Adobe Content Authenticity Pioneer.

Cheriss is a former president of WPOW, currently based in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, Ca.

Cherissmay.com

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR / STAFF PHOTOJOURNALIST AT THE BALTIMORE BANNER

Kaitlin Newman is a staff photojournalist and assistant photo editor at The Baltimore Banner, a non-profit local digital newspaper based in Baltimore, MD. She covers a wide range of assignments, but primarily focuses on breaking news, politics, crime and investigative work.

She is the professor of photojournalism at Towson University, from which she obtained a Master’s Degree in journalism.

PHOTO EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST

Christine T. Nguyen is senior photo editor on the Politics & Government and National desks at The Washington Post, where she has focused on the White House, Capitol Hill and the 2024 elections. Before joining the Post, Christine worked as a features photo editor at the Star Tribune and as senior photojournalist at Minnesota Public Radio. She also covered a range of community stories as a photojournalist at multiple newspapers in North Carolina.

ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR, AARP

Deja Nycole is a documentarian who specializes in the analysis and production of historical records by examining documents held in various repositories and institutions; highlighting the unique narratives of those whose voices go unheard and lives unseen through extensive research, collaboration and creative media in an effort to add to the history of humanity.

As a documentarian, Deja is an archival researcher, documentary photographer, photo editor, and producer. She holds both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from High Point University and The George Washington University, respectively. Her education equips her as a documentary storyteller; she is passionate about sharing people’s realities while empowering each other to make a difference across our global communities.

INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER

A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Lucian Perkins worked as a staff photographer for The Washington Post for twenty-seven years.

While at the Post, Perkins covered many significant events of the time in the U.S. and abroad, including Russia and the former Soviet Union since 1988, the first Palestinian uprising, and the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

He co-founded “InterFoto,” an international photography festival in Moscow, Russia, from 1995 to 2005, and published two books: Hard Art, DC, and Runway Madness. He has also filmed and edited numerous short documentaries, including his first full-length one, The Messengers, which follows two young volunteers transformed by the residents of Joseph’s House, a hospice for homeless HIV/AIDs patients in Washington, DC.

Currently, Perkins is an independent photographer and filmmaker concentrating on multimedia projects and documentaries while continuing to pursue his love for the still image.

FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER

Moriah Ratner is a freelance photojournalist based in Washington, D.C. She studied photojournalism and psychology at Syracuse University, graduating in 2018, and earned a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Mills College in 2022.

Moriah's work takes a documentary, journalistic approach to human interest stories on health, politics, criminal justice, religion, gender inequality, and wellness. Grounded in an editorial foundation, she combines natural light with emotionally driven, intimate storytelling. She believes photography is a universal language and is committed to using it both to help people and to challenge perceptions of the world, working across daily news assignments and long-term projects.

Her photography has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, National Geographic, Bloomberg News, The Associated Press, Getty Images, NBC News, The Guardian, and others. Named one of 12 emerging photographers to watch by The New York Times Lens Blog in 2018, Moriah has mentored photojournalism students, is a member of WPOW, NPPA, and WHNPA, and has attended the Eddie Adams Workshop XXX, the 58th annual Hearst National Journalism Awards Championship, the 71st Missouri Photo Workshop as the 2019 Cliff & Vi Edom Scholarship recipient, and the 2018 and 2024 New York Portfolio Review.

RETIRED PHOTOGRAPHER AND PHOTO EDITOR

Let’s see. I’ve worked at newspapers small and large including the deep South, west coast, Chicago, New York and Washington, DC. I retired from the Post a few years back and immediately worked for Politico from two years before moving abroad where I photographed some politics for an honest newspaper in the former Soviet Union. More recently I taught photojournalism in Europe for seven years in a month long, college level summer study abroad program. Cameras have changed over the years, but true photojournalism has not.

Independent Visuals Editor

Molly Roberts is a photographer, curator, educator and visuals editor living in Baltimore. She is co-director of WPOW (Women Photojournalists of Washington) Mentorship Committee and a former photography editor at National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Washington Post Magazine and others. She is passionate about people, visual storytelling and authenticity.

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER

Whitney Shefte is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and video journalist with over 17 years at The Washington Post. A Peabody, Murrow, and Emmy-honored storyteller, she specializes in directing, filming, producing, and editing impactful documentaries and news features around the globe—from the war in Ukraine and climate change in Greenland to U.S. politics and healthcare.

Her work has been recognized by the IWMF, WHNPA, and the Pulitzer committee. She’s also taught journalism at Georgetown and served as WHNPA president for eight years.

Now working independently, Whitney creates content for major media outlets, nonprofits, and brands. She is based in Washington, D.C.

SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

Alex Snyder is an award-winning photo editor and photojournalist. As Senior Photo Editor for Nature Conservancy he has produced over 30 feature stories for their flagship publication Nature Conservancy Magazine. In this role he has also produced award-winning short film documentaries.

Alex also serves as Communications Director for The Photo Society — a collective of over 200 National Geographic photographers who are dedicated to supporting our member’s work and upholding the high ethical standards of documentary photography and photojournalism. Alex manages the groups online community of over 5 million and hosts the monthly talk “The Photo Society Presents — which is free and open to the public.

Prior to his current roles, Alex was the photographer at Peace Corps where he traveled to 15 countries documenting the volunteer experience.

MANAGING EDITOR, VISUAL AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE, EDUCATION WEEK

Sandra M. Stevenson is an award-winning Writer / Visual Editor / Curator who recently joined Education Week as Managing Editor, Visuals and Immersive Experience.

Before joining Education Week, Sandra was Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post, where she managed a team of picture editors covering International, Climate and Health + Science. Previously, she served as Associate Deputy Director of Photography at CNN, overseeing picture editors responsible for curating the home screen, editing stories and newsletters, and producing special projects. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Editor at The New York Times, where she supervised digital photo editors on the news desk and contributed to visual content for Race/Related and Gender. She also played a key role in exclusive projects such as Overlooked and This Is 18.

Sandra earned a B.A. in English from Syracuse University and continued studies in audio/visuals at l’Universite Toulouse in Toulouse, France.

PHOTO DIRECTOR, AARP

Michael Wichita has been with AARP since 2005, and works with AARP's print publications, websites, newsletters, and social presence. Wichita previously worked as a professional photographer, his collaborations with photographers for AARP has been recognized by SPD and American Photography amongst others. Michael is a frequent speaker and portfolio reviewer at industry events. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design.

SENIOR EDITOR FOR WIDER IMAGE AND SPECIAL PROJECTS, REUTERS

Maye-E Wong is an award-winning photojournalist and editor currently based in New York as the Senior Editor for Wider Image and Special Projects at Reuters. She leads photographers worldwide in visual long-form storytelling, from ideation through publication. She also represents Reuters at photo festivals where she shares her skills and experience with the newer generation of photographers.

Wong joined Reuters in April 2023 after a distinguished two-decade career at The Associated Press, globetrotting from bases in Singapore and New York City. She has covered a wide range of global news events including the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazaar, political unrest in Thailand and Hong Kong, natural disasters, Black Lives Matters in the US, and more than 35 trips to North Korea. She also has extensive experience covering global sports events like the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, and the FIFA World Cup.

Her own photography has won multiple awards, including the Overseas Press Club’s Hal Boyle Award, and the 2018 Ancil Payne Ethics in Journalism Award. She was a recipient of grants from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and the IWMF. Wong served as juror in the 2017 and 2018 World Press Photo contests and sits on the Advisory Board of POY Asia. She is currently a member of the board of directors at the Eddie Adams Workshop.

VISUALS DIRECTOR, THE BALTIMORE BANNER

Ariel Zambelich is a freelance photojournalist and the Visuals Director at The Baltimore Banner, where she collaborates to tell stories through photojournalism, video, illustration and design. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Intercept, NPR Visuals, and WIRED. She spent 6 years on the board of the Authority Collective, an organization that amplifies the voices of female-identifying and nonbinary lens-based creators of color through community action. She was also an organizer with the Freelance Solidarity Project, a union for freelance media workers.