For twenty-three years I’ve been a professional photographer and photojournalist living in Portland, Oregon. I specialize in location photography, and the majority of my income comes from work for small and medium sized businesses.

In October 2007, an unexpected assignment took me to Rwanda to photograph the programs of the Portland based Itafari foundation. My life perspective was permanently altered. For the past seven years I've taken one month a year to photograph for non-profits working in developing countries. I’ve been to Rwanda three times and Kenya once, and am currently a board member of the Itafari foundation. The past two years I spent the month of November in Haiti, and will return again next month. All of the photography I do on these trips is donated to the relevant NGO’s
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I also exhibit and speak nationally about my development work, offering provocative visual and journalistic insight into the recovery, reconstruction, and daily life in both Rwanda and Haiti. These talks have been enthusiastically received at peace conferences, corporate gatherings, and in public schools and universities. Telling the stories of people who are not very different from you or me, I present a narrative of Rwandans and Haitians as part of the plurality of our common human identity. Beyond material wealth, we all have similar aspirations for comfortable shelter, full stomachs, steady employment, health care, schooling for our children, and happy stable relationships.

Opening minds to other cultures and showing life in the developing world enriches understanding of ourselves and others, expands gratitude for what we have, and connects us to our common humanity. I believe we all have the ability to make a positive impact on our planet. With my experience as a photographer and small business owner, I’m determined to make a difference.