Classes
Our classes are designed to improve your photography and visual journalism skills no matter your skill level. This year, classes will be held online in small, intimate groups. Participants, teachers and guest lecturers will come together virtually in May 2026 to celebrate their photographic stories and learn new skills.
Our teachers are some of the world’s most influential photographers and visual journalists. They offer perspectives gained from long experience working around the world.
Please note that our instructors and presenters are subject to change.
Teachers
Monica Allende
[Classes taught in Spanish + Portfolio Reviewer]
Monica Allende is an independent curator/artistic director, consultant and educator. She is the Artistic Director of Landskrona Foto Festival and was GetxoPhoto International Image Festival Artistic Director from 2017 to 2019. She curated “Light” an exhibition during PhotoLondon 2021 at Peckham24. She has also collaborated with WeTransfer as a Consultant and Creative Producer and was the FORMAT17 International Photography Festival director. She is curating the Blues Skies Project, a multidisciplinary project with artist Anton Kusters and Ruben Samama, shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation Prize 2019 and exhibiting in Les Recontres d’ Arles in 2021. She collaborates with Canon Europe as an adviser on the Ambassadors and the Student Mentorship Programmes. She advises CAMPO.lat, a grassroots digital platform, on strategy and programming. Allende was the Photo Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine, where she launched Spectrum, the award-winning photography section.
She is a visiting lecturer at the London College of Communication, London & EFTI in Madrid. She is a collaborator and teaches programmes in Latin America and Sarajevo for the VII Academy part of the VII Foundation. She has also produced and taught creatives labs for FIFV in Chile, Proyecto Imaginario, Argentina, ScreenLab in London and Taskheil in Saudi Arabia. The Mentorship Business Programme for the University of Sunderland’s and workshop for Internazionale a Ferrara, WPP workshop Angola, Magnum Professional Practice, Grain and Format “East Meets West “ Programme among many others, and WPP JOOP Masterclass.
She is dedicated to nurturing new and established talent and nominates photographers for prizes, including the Paul Huf Award , Deutsche Börse TPG Photography Prize, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, the Prix Pictet and The Joop Swart Masterclass/ WPP.
Allende is also a reviewer and ambassador for Reminders Photography Stronghold in Japan and Docking Station in Holland. She is on the Board of Trustees of Photoworks advising on curatorial practices.
Ali Arkady
[Individual Classes taught in Arabic and Kurdish]
Ali Arkady is a photojournalist, artist, and filmmaker whose work focuses on armed conflict, human rights violations, and the everyday impact of war on civilians in Iraq and the region.
His investigations documenting war crimes by Iraqi armed forces were published internationally and contributed to holding authorities accountable. His work has been widely exhibited and recognized,
including at the Venice Biennale(2017), and through major international awards such as the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents (2017) and the Most Resilient Journalist Award from Free Press Unlimited (2019).
For more than 22 years, he has documented conflict, displacement, and social change in Iraq and beyond. Arkady is a Contributing Photographer with VII Foundation, and is actively involved in teaching and mentoring
emerging photographers through educational programs, while continuing to develop long-term photographic and cinematic projects addressing human rights and social justice.
Victor Blue
[Classes taught in English]
Victor J. Blue is a New York based photojournalist and a 2024 ASU Future Security Fellow at the New America Foundation, whose work is most often concerned with the legacy of armed conflict, the reclamation of human rights, and unequal outcomes resulting from policy and politics. He is a contributing artist at Harper’s Magazine, and holds a Masters Degree in Visual Communication from Ohio University.
His photographs appear in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harpers Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Bloomberg News, Time, New Lines Magazine, and Mother Jones. His work has been exhibited at the Bronx Documentary Center, Powerhouse Gallery, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. His work has been supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, the NPPA, and Ohio University, and recognized with 7 Pictures of the Year International awards, 5 NPPA Best of Photojournalism awards, and by the Overseas Press Club.
Michael Robinson Chavez
[Classes taught in Spanish]
Michael Robinson Chávez, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning photographer for The Washington Post, became seduced by photography after a friend gave him a camera before a trip to Peru in 1988. A native Californian and half Peruvian, he previously worked with the Associated Press, The Boston Globe and The Los Angeles Times and is a graduate of San Francisco State University. Robinson Chávez has covered assignments in over 75 countries including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the collapse of Venezuela, violence in Mexico, tsunamis in Indonesia and Chile, the Egyptian revolution, gold mining in Peru and the 2006 Hezbollah/Israeli war.
He was part of a team from The Washington Post awarded a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the January 6th coup attempt on the US Capitol and for Explanatory Journalism in 2019 covering climate change. He is also a three-time winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Photojournalism and was named Photographer of the Year by Pictures of the Year International in 2020. His photographs have been exhibited in France, Australia, Peru, United States, Croatia, Georgia and Spain. He teaches photo workshops through the Leica Akademie.
Marko Drobnjakovic
[Classes taught in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian]
Marko Drobnjakovic is a freelance documentary photographer based out of Belgrade, Serbia. He graduated from Belgrade University with a B. Sc. and M. Sc. in Engineering. His photography focuses on post-conflict societies, and includes stories related to the Iraq conflict, the turmoil and escalation of conflict in Ukraine, the rise and fall of ISIS in northern Iraq, the refugee crisis in Europe and the aftermath and consequences of the Yugoslav wars.
Marko worked on feature assignments for publications and clients that include The Associated Press, NBC, MSF, International Rescue Committee, Human Rights Watch, Der Spiegel, El Pais and The New Yorker. Awards and grants include the Magnum Foundation Grant, Pulitzer Prize finalist for Breaking News Photography, Yunghi Kim Grant, Aftermath Project Grant finalist, Ochberg Fellowship, Logan Nonfiction Fellowship, Alfred Toepfer Fellowship Grant.
Kiana Hayeri
Kiana Hayeri grew up in Tehran, Iran, and moved to Toronto as a teenager. She took up photography to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps. In 2014, she moved to Kabul and lived there for nearly a decade. Her work often explores migration, adolescence, identity, and sexuality in conflict zones.
Kiana has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Tim Hetherington Visionary Award (2020), the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting (2020), the Robert Capa Gold Medal (2021), and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (2022), the Carmignac Photojournalism Award (2024), and the World Press Photo Prize (2025). She was part of The New York Times team that won The Hal Boyle Award (2022) and was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in the same year.
Kiana has published two photobooks, “When Cages Fly” (2024) and “No Woman’s Land” (2025). “When Cages Fly” was shortlisted for Rencontres d’Arles Author Book Award, IPA Photobook Awards, a finalist for Lucie Photobook Award and APhF Pick:24 Book Award and the winner of The Photography Book of the Year by POY (Picture Of the Year).
Kiana is a TED fellow, a National Geographic Explorer grantee, and a regular contributor to The New York Times. She is currently based in Sarajevo, covering stories from Afghanistan, Syria, the Balkans, and beyond.
Alison Morley
[Classes taught in English + Portfolio Reviewer]
Alison Morley is the Chair Emerita of the Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism Program at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, where she led a wide range of international students and faculty for 18 years. She began her career as a portrait photographer in Los Angeles and after ten years of working with various magazines , she moved on to become the Director of Photography at The Los Angeles Times Magazine. She later moved to New York City and worked as the Director of Photography at The New York Times Sophisticated Traveler, Audubon, Civilization, Esquire, Mirabella, Smart Money(consultant), OPRAH (consultant) and ELLE Magazines.
Alison currently works as a Book Consultant/Photo Editor/Photo Book Editor, Sequencer, Curator and Educator for photographers and partnering institutions globally. Recently she curated the Daegu International Photo Festival in Korea, taught as a high school mentor for the YMCA_VII Academy Youth Voices Photography Program in Boston and was the 2024 Coordinator for the Foundry Photojournalism International Workshop, supported by VII Academy and Photowings.org.
Her forte is Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, but she has worked in every genre of photography. She teaches and coaches Digital Book Making Online for the International Center of Photography as well as private clients in all levels and aspects of their photographic journey.
Smita Sharma
[Classes taught in Hindi/Bengali]
Smita Sharma is a Delhi based photojournalist and visual storyteller reporting on critical human rights, gender, social justice and environmental issues in her own community as well as in the Global South on assignments for Human Rights Watch, National Geographic Magazine, TIME and other publications.
From documenting the effect of pregnancy on girl’s education in Kenya to child marriage in Nepal, and sex-trafficking in South Asia, Sharma is committed to representing people with dignity and telling underrepresented stories with impact.
Smita is a TED fellow, TED Speaker and an IWMF reporting fellow. For Stolen Lives, her in-depth work documenting minor sex trafficking in India and Bangladesh for National Geographic Magazine, she received the Amnesty International Media award for photojournalism and the Fetisov Journalism Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting.
Smita is actively engaged in public speaking, victim advocacy and international public education. Her work has been exhibited and shown globally, including at the UN Headquarters in New York. Her book We Cry In Silence documenting cross-border trafficking of underage girls in South Asia is published by FotoEvidence and she is organising a campaign in the region aimed at educating and raising awareness amongst the communities most vulnerable to human trafficking.
Book – ‘We Cry in Silence’ published by FotoEvidence in September 2022.
Tomas Van Houtryve
[Classes taught in French]
Tomas van Houtryve is an artist, photographer and author who engages critical issues around the world. His major works interweave contemporary concepts, investigative journalism and metaphor, occupying the intersection between art and pure documentary. Many of his projects push the technical limits of photography, from 19th century chemical processes to thermal imaging and Augmented Reality.
Van Houtryve’s work is included in the permanent collections of the International Center of Photography Museum (ICP), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago (MoCP). He is the author of the book Behind the Curtains of 21st Century Communism. His groundbreaking Blue Sky Days series about America’s drone wars was published in Harper’s in 2014 as the largest photo portfolio in the magazine’s 164-year history.
Van Houtryve has been honored with over a dozen top awards, including the ICP Infinity Award, World Press Photo, POY Photographer of the Year and the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents. He is frequently invited for public speaking engagements and has appeared on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, ARTE and France 5. He is a CatchLight Pulitzer Fellow.
Adriana Zehbrauskas
[Classes taught in Portuguese]
Adriana Zehbrauskas is a Brazilian documentary photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. Her work is largely focused on issues related to migration, religion, human rights, underrepresented communities and the violence resulting from the drug trade in Mexico, Central and South America. As a documentary photographer the core of her work is aimed at moving, challenging and connecting people through the stories she works on.
She contributes regularly with the The New York Times, UNICEF, CNN, The Washington Post and The Guardian. Her work has been widely published in outlets such as The New Yorker, Stern, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Libération, Folha de S. Paulo, Bloomberg and El País, among others.
She is the recipient of a 2022/23 Robert Capa Gold Medal Award Citation, 2021 Maria Moors Cabot Prize , 2021 Anja Niedringhaus Courage In Photojournalism Award Honorable Mention, a New York Press Club Award in Feature-Science Medicine and Technology in the Newspaper category for the article “Zika’s Legacy: Catastrophic Consequences of a Continuing Crisis (NY-2018) and a POY International (2019). She was a finalist for the Premio Gabo (2018) and received two Honorable Mentions at the Julia Margaret Cameron Award (2018).
Adriana is one of the three photographers profiled in the documentary “Beyond Assignment” (USA, 2011, produced by The Knight Center for International Media and the University of Miami. She’s a recipient of the first Getty Images Instagram Grant (2015) and was awarded Best Female Photojournalist in her native Brazil (Troféu Mulher Imprensa). Her mobile photography work was selected by Time Magazine for the “29 Instagrams That Defined the World in 2014″ and her project on Faith in Brazil and Mexico was awarded a Art & Worship World Prize by the Niavaran Artistic Creation Foundation.
She’s an instructor with the International Center of Photography (ICP- NY), the World Press Photo Foundation, Gabriel García Márquez’s Fundación Gabo, the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop and serves as a jury member to dozens of grants and awards worldwide, including the World Press Photo, POY LATAM and Premio Gabo.
PhotoWings’ Interviews with the 2026 Foundry Tutors
2026 Portfolio Reviewers
Monica Allende
[Portfolio Reviewer | Spanish, English]
Monica Allende is an independent curator/artistic director, consultant and educator. She is the Artistic Director of Landskrona Foto Festival and was GetxoPhoto International Image Festival Artistic Director from 2017 to 2019. She curated “Light” an exhibition during PhotoLondon 2021 at Peckham24. She has also collaborated with WeTransfer as a Consultant and Creative Producer and was the FORMAT17 International Photography Festival director. She is curating the Blues Skies Project, a multidisciplinary project with artist Anton Kusters and Ruben Samama, shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation Prize 2019 and exhibiting in Les Recontres d’ Arles in 2021. She collaborates with Canon Europe as an adviser on the Ambassadors and the Student Mentorship Programmes. She advises CAMPO.lat, a grassroots digital platform, on strategy and programming. Allende was the Photo Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine, where she launched Spectrum, the award-winning photography section.
She is a visiting lecturer at the London College of Communication, London & EFTI in Madrid. She is a collaborator and teaches programmes in Latin America and Sarajevo for the VII Academy part of the VII Foundation. She has also produced and taught creatives labs for FIFV in Chile, Proyecto Imaginario, Argentina, ScreenLab in London and Taskheil in Saudi Arabia. The Mentorship Business Programme for the University of Sunderland’s and workshop for Internazionale a Ferrara, WPP workshop Angola, Magnum Professional Practice, Grain and Format “East Meets West “ Programme among many others, and WPP JOOP Masterclass.
She is dedicated to nurturing new and established talent and nominates photographers for prizes, including the Paul Huf Award , Deutsche Börse TPG Photography Prize, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, the Prix Pictet and The Joop Swart Masterclass/ WPP.
Allende is also a reviewer and ambassador for Reminders Photography Stronghold in Japan and Docking Station in Holland. She is on the Board of Trustees of Photoworks advising on curatorial practices.
Jay Davies
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
Gabriel Eisenmeier
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
- Story Editing & Sequencing: Helping photographers refine their narratives to ensure each image serves the broader story.
- The Art of the Pitch: Providing practical, industry-insider advice on how to successfully connect with publishers and get work commissioned.
- Contemporary Media Landscapes: Understanding the evolving role of photography in both print and online storytelling.
Julie Hau
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
Julie Hau serves as a senior photo editor at National Geographic, commissioning and curating stories that illuminate wildlife and the natural world, and working closely with photographers and creatives to produce compelling visual content for print, digital, and social channels.
photo by Rebecca Hale
Stephanie Heimann
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
Ms Heimann has a special interest in long-term documentary projects, as well a wide array of photography genres including photojournalism, artistic narratives, conceptual still life, and portraits. Many photographers she has met through portfolio reviews have been hired, published, or exhibited within the various projects she is engaged in.
She is not interested in seeing nudes or fashion photography.
Lara Huck
[Portfolio Reviewer | English, German]
Lara Huck is the Deputy Director of Photography for the renowned German weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT. With an extensive background in visual journalism and editorial storytelling, she plays a pivotal role in shaping the aesthetic and narrative direction of one of Europe’s most respected publications. Lara is highly regarded for her ability to identify powerful imagery that balances artistic integrity with journalistic urgency. Her expertise spans international reportage, portraiture, and long-form visual essays, making her an invaluable mentor for photographers looking to refine their storytelling and professional presentation.
Natalia Jiménez
[Portfolio Reviewer | English, Portuguese, Spanish]
Natalia Jiménez is a deputy photo director at The Wall Street Journal, overseeing International coverage. She is drawn to intimate storytelling across a range of issues, including migration, women’s rights and the political landscape. She was previously at The Washington Post, leading their International and Futures desks, and before that covered National and Politics and the impact of policies on American life. She was part of the team awarded Pulitzer Prizes in 2022 for coverage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and in 2025 for breaking news coverage of the Trump assassination attempt. Her work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year and NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism. Before joining The Post in 2018, she was the photography manager at NBC News.
Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post
Matej Leskovšek
[Portfolio Reviewer | English, Serbo-Croatian]
Matej Leskovšek is a distinguished Slovenian photojournalist and editor currently serving as an International Photo Editor for The New York Times in Singapore. With a career spanning over two decades, he has transitioned from documenting global conflicts in the field to managing high-stakes visual storytelling for major news organizations. Before joining the Times in 2021, he led a team of 30 editors as the Deputy Editor for the Reuters Global Picture Desk in Poland. His editorial work has garnered significant acclaim, including contributing to projects that won World Press Photo awards and being named a finalist for Pictures of the Year (POY). Beyond his corporate roles, he is the founder and director of Slovenia Press Photo, an organization dedicated to promoting news photography through festivals and education. His academic background includes a Master’s degree in German Language and Literature from the University of Ljubljana, providing a unique foundation for his international communications career. Today, he remains a pivotal figure in shaping how the world perceives news from Asia through his expert visual curation.
Dario Lopez Mills
[Portfolio Reviewer | English, Portuguese, Spanish]
Dario Lopez-Mills is a visual storyteller with nearly three decades as a photographer covering conflict around the world. He has worked for Associated Press since 1997 as both a photographer and photo editor. His work focuses on using video, photos and the latest digital storytelling tools to tell compelling stories for social and digital platforms. He is presently based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Alison Morley
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
Alison Morley is the Chair Emerita of the Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism Program at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, where she led a wide range of international students and faculty for 18 years. She began her career as a portrait photographer in Los Angeles and after ten years of working with various magazines , she moved on to become the Director of Photography at The Los Angeles Times Magazine. She later moved to New York City and worked as the Director of Photography at The New York Times Sophisticated Traveler, Audubon, Civilization, Esquire, Mirabella, Smart Money(consultant), OPRAH (consultant) and ELLE Magazines.
Alison currently works as a Book Consultant/Photo Editor/Photo Book Editor, Sequencer, Curator and Educator for photographers and partnering institutions globally. Recently she curated the Daegu International Photo Festival in Korea, taught as a high school mentor for the YMCA_VII Academy Youth Voices Photography Program in Boston and was the 2024 Coordinator for the Foundry Photojournalism International Workshop, supported by VII Academy and Photowings.org.
Her forte is Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, but she has worked in every genre of photography. She teaches and coaches Digital Book Making Online for the International Center of Photography as well as private clients in all levels and aspects of their photographic journey.
Sukruti Anah Staneley
[Portfolio Reviewer | English, Hindi]
Sukruti Anah Staneley is the creative director at The Caravan, India’s finest magazine of long-form narrative journalism. It is one of India’s most respected and intellectually agile publications, setting new benchmarks for the Indian and South Asian media. Her work lies at the intersection of photojournalism and editorial design, collaborating with reporters around the world. She is an award-winning book designer and teaches publication design at École Intuit Lab, Delhi.
Marcel Saba
[Portfolio Reviewer | French, English]
In 2003 Marcel founded Redux Pictures, an award-winning New York City-based commercial and editorial photo agency with photographers located around the world. Redux artists have photographed portraits of world leaders, CEOs, politicians, athletes and celebrities. They have documented everything from social issues such as healthcare, immigration, and poverty, to global issues such as the economy, the environment, and war. In addition, their extensive travel, food, and lifestyle photography showcases Redux as an Industry leader. As a global leader in photography, Redux Pictures represents the photo collections of The New York Times Archives, and is partnered with over 25 world-renowned photo collections. Marcel has served on the board of the Eugene Smith Foundation and as a faculty member of the International Center of Photography. Regular Redux editorial clients include Afar, Forbes, Fortune, ESPN, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, GQ, GEO, Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Reader’s Digest, and Travel &Leisure. Commercial shoots include contemporary annual reports for Goldman Sachs, USAA, and ad campaigns for Bose, Converse, Denny’s, Glossier, PNC Bank, Siemens, Under Armour and Vans
Maggie Steber
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
Maggie Steber is an internationally renowned photographer whose work spans 72 countries, documenting humanitarian, cultural, and social stories with depth and empathy. Among her numerous honors include a Guggenheim Foundation Grant, Leica Medal of Excellence, World Press Photo Foundation Award, Overseas Press Club Award, Pictures of the Year, The Lucie Award,and the Alicia Patterson and Ernst Haas grants, a Knight Foundation grant for the New American Newspaper project, and most recently, the 2023 Photography Content Creator Award from the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award in Dubai.
For three decades, Steber has devoted extensive work to Haiti, culminating in her Aperture-published monograph Dancing on Fire. In addition, she has published two other books, Rite of Passage and Anything Can Happen. National Geographic has featured her in 16 stories and recognized her as one of 11 Women of Vision with a book and a five-city U.S. exhibition in 2013. In 2018 she received the National Geographic Photographers’ Photographer Award. Steber has served as a Newsweek contract photographer and, in 1999, was named Managing Editor of Photography and Features at The Miami Herald, where she oversaw projects that earned a Pulitzer Prize and two finalist citations. Her photographs are housed in the Library of Congress, the University of Miami’s Richter Library, and private collections, and have been exhibited worldwide, including eight Leica galleries across the United States.
Mikko Takkunen
[Portfolio Reviewer | English]
Mikko Takkunen is a photo editor at The New York Times‘s International desk in New York. Originally from Finland, Mikko spent a decade in the United Kingdom where he studied International Relations and later worked as a freelance photographer. In 2013 he joined time.com as a photo editor. In 2015 he joined the New York Times. He was the International desk’s Asia photo editor in Hong Kong 2016-2021. Now back in New York, he oversees the desk’s Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, and Pakistan photos.
Gaia Tripoli
[Portfolio Reviewer | English, Italian]
Gaia Tripoli oversees the The New York Times International photo department. She manages a team of photo editors based in 4 newsrooms on 3 continents, New York, London, Hong Kong and Seoul, working closely with staff and freelance photographers around the world to produce the Times’ international photographic coverage.
Before joining The Times, Gaia’s experience spanned from photo exhibits to working for Grazia Neri, one of Italy’s most renowned photo agencies, and photo editing for Amica, an Italian monthly magazine. She left Milan for Paris in 2011 to join the International Herald Tribune and has been based in London since 2017.
Photo Credit: Andrew Testa
Wikus de Wet
[Portfolio Reviewer | Afrikaans, English]
Wikus de Wet is a South African photographer and editor who currently serves as the Deputy Africa Editorial Chief for Photo at Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He began his photography career in 2012, covering stories across South Africa for local and international outlets including Die Burger, Rapport, Beeld, Mail & Guardian, and AFP.
Known for his collaborative approach, Wikus also co-authored a book with South African musician and poet Jaco van der Merwe, Wat Binne Is (That Which Is Inside), exploring post-apartheid Afrikaner identity and heritage.
In 2019, he joined AFP’s Johannesburg bureau as a photo editor and was promoted in 2023 to his current role. In this role, he oversees editorial planning and decision-making, manages photographers, and packages photo productions across the sub-Saharan Africa region for clients. He works closely with the AFP Africa Chief Photographer Marco Longari, and has been instrumental in updating and developing more efficient workflows and editorial processes within the organisation.
He has also been used to reinforce editing teams in major global events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games (remotely), the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup (remotely), the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France (remotely), the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and various other international AFP assignments. During these events, he worked with the global photography and editing team to deliver high-quality real-time photo coverage for clients.
His work reflects a deep commitment to honest, empathetic storytelling and the development of visual journalism in Africa.
2026 Foundry Guests
Santiago Lyon
Santiago Lyon is Head of Advocacy and Education for the Content Authenticity Initiative, an Adobe-led community of major media and technology companies developing open-source technology to fight mis/disinformation. From 2003 to 2016 he was vice president and Director of Photography of The Associated Press responsible for the AP’s global photo report and the photographers and photo editors around the world who produce it. From 1984 to 2003 he was a photographer and photo editor.
Lyon has 35+ years of experience in news-service photography and has won multiple photojournalism awards for his coverage of conflicts around the globe – including two World Press Photo prizes and the Bayeux prize for war photography. He covered the end of the civil war in El Salvador, the U.S. invasion of Panama, the first Gulf War, the Balkan wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, the civil wars in Somalia and Yemen as well as the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan among other major news and sports stories around the world.
He joined the Associated Press in 1991 in Cairo after previously having worked for the Spanish news agency EFE, United Press International and Reuters. Lyon served as the Associated Press photo editor for Spain and Portugal from 1995 until 2003, when he was named director of photography. In the same year, he was a Nieman Fellow in journalism at Harvard University.
Under his direction, the AP won three Pulitzer Prizes for photography as well as numerous other major photojournalism awards around the world. Lyon was part of a small team of AP executives who traveled repeatedly to North Korea to negotiate the successful opening of an AP bureau in Pyongyang. He serves on the board of directors of the Eddie Adams Workshop and the VII Foundation. He teaches regularly at the International Center of Photography in New York.
He was chair of the jury for the 2013 World Press Photo contest. In 2012, he was a Sulzberger Fellow at Columbia University in New York, studying ways to enhance the value of the AP’s photo output to better serve growing customer segments.
In late 2016 he left the AP, joining Adobe in September 2017 as their first director of editorial content a position tasked with developing and growing Adobe’s photojournalism offering to its customers.
Bec Manson
Bec Manson is a photographic digital retoucher/artist and founder of The Post Office, a small and mighty Post Production Studio based in LA and NYC with an extensive list of commercial, editorial and fine art photographers, advertising agencies, and art galleries. Whether it’s shaping illuminated color trails with Rueben Wu on his Volkswagen campaign, supporting Guggenheim Grant recipient Jono Rotman with his deep dive into the delicate fiction of civilization and power structures in society, color grading acclaimed photojournalist Ron Haviv’s work for the Smithsonian Museum archives, or perfecting Claire Rosen’s whimsical Fantastical Feasts for NatGeo — she is a behind the screen wizard supporting creatives to achieve their highest vision for their work. Bec’s client list spans all genres from Apple to IBM, Armani to Nike, Masseratti to Harley Davidson – and global publications like The New York Times, Vogue, GQ, Esquire, Wired, Marie Claire, Harpers Bazaar, Pop, Another Magazine, Rolling Stone, and W. In 2012, Bec spoke at TEDGlobal in Edinburgh on the power and connections we have with capturing time and memories in images. Her talk was based on the program she developed from her time in Japan after the devastating tsunami in 2011 where she trained a team of local volunteers to clean virtually destroyed family photographs and galvanized a remote team for digital restoration — a program since executed following other natural disasters. Named in 2021/22 by Luerzers archive as one of the best 200 digital artists worldwide and recipient of the SXSW Dewey Winburne Community Service Award in 2012, Bec has also received recognition from PDN, Communication Arts, Graphis and the D&AD awards.
Frank Meo
Frank Meo has represented photographers for thirty years. His collaborations have produced hundreds of award-winning ad campaigns, art shows, provocative editorial content, and successful books. He has facilitated photographic productions with every major advertising agency and many Fortune 500 companies. He’s a sought-after moderator, portfolio reviewer, and curator as well as a passionate advocate of the photographic community through a variety of channels: Creative Business Workshop, where he addresses topics such as estimating, negotiation, client relationship building and retention, effective promotion, industry trends, and best practices; and PROJECTIONS, a monthly moderated event showcasing the talent of visionary photographers to an audience of creatives. Frank has consulted, collaborated, and curated numerous photographic books: Nancy Borowick’s “The Family Imprint: A Daughter’s Portrait of Love and Loss,” Tim Mantoni’s, “Behind Photographs,” and Bob Zahn’s “Slab City.” He has judged numerous photo competitions, including PDN Photo Contest, Sienna Photo Awards, Moscow Photography Awards, and Lucie Awards, and he’s been a nominator for the prestigious ICP Infinity Awards. He’s a popular speaker at learning institutions that include Syracuse University, New School, Parsons, ICP, SCAG, and SVA and for trade organizations that include ASMP, Eddie Adams Workshop, and APA.
Nika Perne
VII Community
In the last two decades, Nika Perne has worked as a curator, producer, project manager, and expert advisor with several non-governmental organizations, public institutes, and private initiatives. In recent years, she has focused more on producing festivals, cooperation projects, and the management of networks. She is driven by inspiring storytelling and care for communities with a focus on photography and light art. She is managing VII Community Program at The VII Foundation (US), dedicated to continuing education of the foundation’s alumni network. She is also the curator for the RE.LIGHT International Light Art Festival in Regensburg (DE), Water Light Festival in Bressanone (IT), and has been regularly collaborating with the IBSIC Conference in Lille (FR).
She lives in Kranj, Slovenia, and works worldwide.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikaperne/
Claire Rosen
Claire Rosen is an award-winning artist named twice to Forbes “30 under 30” list for Art & Design. Her work has also received recognition from Communication Arts, IPA, Graphis, PDN, Photoville Fence, and PX3 with features in Der Greif, Fast &Co, featureShoot, The Guardian, NPR, National Geographic, Refinery29, Smithsonian Magazine, Slate Magazine, and The Washington Post. Claire has constructed unique campaigns and installations for a wide range of commercial brands bridging the gap between fine art and commercial work. In addition, Claire speaks about the creative process around the world with a book on the subject, IMAGINARIUM: The Process Behind the Pictures. Claire is a brand ambassador for FujiFilm US and Hahnemühle USA.
Marcel Saba
In 2003 Marcel founded Redux Pictures, an award-winning New York City-based commercial and editorial photo agency with photographers located around the world. Redux artists have photographed portraits of world leaders, CEOs, politicians, athletes and celebrities. They have documented everything from social issues such as healthcare, immigration, and poverty, to global issues such as the economy, the environment, and war. In addition, their extensive travel, food, and lifestyle photography showcases Redux as an Industry leader. As a global leader in photography, Redux Pictures represents the photo collections of The New York Times Archives, and is partnered with over 25 world-renowned photo collections. Marcel has served on the board of the Eugene Smith Foundation and as a faculty member of the International Center of Photography. Regular Redux editorial clients include Afar, Forbes, Fortune, ESPN, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, GQ, GEO, Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Reader’s Digest, and Travel &Leisure. Commercial shoots include contemporary annual reports for Goldman Sachs, USAA, and ad campaigns for Bose, Converse, Denny’s, Glossier, PNC Bank, Siemens, Under Armour and Vans
John Stanmeyer
John Stanmeyer is a National Geographic Explorer, photographer, and artist. An Emmy nominated filmmaker and educator dedicated to environmental, social, and cultural issues that define our times. For more than 15 years, John has worked nearly exclusively with National Geographic magazine, producing over 19 stories, resulting in more than 14 covers. He has also been the photographer on the epic journey across the earth with writer and NatGeo colleague Paul Salopek on the Out of Eden Walk. Between 1998 and 2008, John was a contract photographer for Time magazine. His years with Time resulted in 18 covers. In 2001, Stanmeyer co-founded the prestigious VII Photo Agency with six of the world’s leading photojournalists. Today VII represents more than 29 photographers from around the globe. Stanmeyer is an Emeritus member of VII and is a member of Ripple Effects Images, a collective of artists and storytellers working on women, empowerment, and equality. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the prestigious Robert Capa Award, POYi Magazine Photographer of the Year, and the World Press Photo of the Year in 2014. John lives with his dogs, Elfriede the Great Dane, and her sister, Eleanor, in the southern Berkshires of western Massachusetts.
Past Foundry Guests have included …
Monica Allende, Robert Dannin, Mike Davis, Maral Deghati, Nariman El-Mofty, Alice Gabriner, Julie Hau, Stephanie Heimann, Magdalena Herrera, Natalia Jiménez, Olivier Laurent, Santiago Lyon, Frank Meo, Dario Lopez Mills, Tanvi Mishra, Claire Rosen, Marcel Saba, Maggie Steber, Mikko Takkunen, Gaia Tripoli