Judges
Brooke Jones
Brooke wants to live in a world where people choose kindness over violence, compassion over cruelty, and action over indifference. She also believes every office should offer yoga and a room full of kittens (for stress relief, of course).
As Vice President of Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, she oversees the education programs, website, social media, and strategic partnership efforts. Utilizing social media to build engagement, the RAK Facebook page engages over one million fans. She also maintains an active Twitter following and Pinterest group. Through the website, the RAK kindness curriculum is downloaded in countries all over the world.
Brooke’s roots are in the arts. She received her degree in art history in 1998 after living in Paris, studying art and architecture and developing the rare talent of sustaining on baguettes, wine and chocolate for two years. She has worked in the fine art industry and municipal government for most of her career before landing in the non-profit sector.
When she’s not posting inspiring stories on Facebook, visiting schools, or attending a kindness event you can find her curled up with a good book, working on one of her many crafts, or hanging out with her husband and daughter and puppy, Banksy.
Alexa Keefe
Alexa Keefe is a Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic, where she edits and produces National Geographic’s online Picture Stories series. Her passion for storytelling began at a young age with creative writing, followed by a degree in French literature. For the past 16 years, her passion has found expression in the pairing of photography with real life stories, first as a photo archivist and now as a photo editor, helping to bring the experiences of photographers and visual storytellers to life.
Bobbi Lane
An award-winning commercial photographer specializing in creative portraits on location and in the studio, Lane’s multi-faceted approach to photography incorporates over 35 years of technical experience with innovative artistic interpretation.
As a dedicated and highly awarded photo educator, she brings insight and enthusiasm to her hundreds of students every year. At the APA National’s 25th Anniversary, Bobbi was honored with a Special Recognition Award for Education. Photo District News named her one of the 13 “Top Workshop Instructors!”
Bobbi co-authored the book “Advertising Photography; A Straightforward Guide to a Complex Industry” with fashion photographer Lou Lesko. She developed the content and filmed several instructional DVDs: Portrait Lighting Techniques, Portraits Unplugged, Posing and Directing and Exposure Foundation.
Aundre Larrow
On his fifteenth birthday, Aundre Larrow received a Minolta film camera from his high school theater teacher as a gift. Within 3 months, he had blown all of his money processing film filled with portraits of fast friends and loved ones. Ten years later, not much has changed. Aundre is a Brooklyn-based portrait photographer who has spent the last few years shooting editorial and lifestyle content for his clients. He most recently shot the NCAA Tournament, NY Fashion Week and a portrait project about immigration. Throughout the years, his work has always pursued the truth that can be found in portraiture and his residency is the next chapter of that. He is currently an adobe creative resident focusing on projects that examine how our sense of place affects us.
Mara Leite
A cityscape and landscape photographer based in Seattle, WA, Mara was born in the beautiful state of Washington and brought up in picturesque Portugal. Entirely self taught, she is most passionate about cityscapes, astrophotography and recently, architectural photography. Her photos range from vibrant sunrises to monochrome waterscapes. Her favorite parts of the day to photograph are the sunrise and the blue hours. Mara also likes to capture and play around with natural light.
Joekenneth Museau
Is a Brooklyn-bred artist who seeks to connect with the world around him through his ability to create a mosaic of words formed by personal experiences and astute observations. Joekenneth—known for his unique first name—initially commanded the attention of the inter-webs by way of his spoken word poetry which is characterized by poignant messages, eloquently delivered with the raw emotion that is discernibly felt by his audience.
Throughout the years of his creative career, Joekenneth has sought to express himself in various mediums beyond writing; which includes photography and styling. In the summer of 2013, he published his first book entitled “Tales of a Troubled Romantic”; a compilation of poetry and prose writings along with photography by Andre D. Wagner. Since then, Joekenneth has used his talents to collaborate with a number of brands such Starbucks, J.Crew and Liberty Fairs amongst others.
Dulce Pinzón
An award winning photographer based in both Mexico and New York, Dulce’s work has been published and collected internationally. In 2001 her photos were used for the cover of a publication of Howard Zinn’s book “A People’s History of the United States”. Her book “The real story of The Superheroes ” was published in 2012. Dulce is currently a recipient of Mexico’s prestigious Endowment Of the Arts SNCA/FONCA fellowship (2014-2017). According to FORBES magazine December 2015 issue, Dulce is on the list of the most creative Mexicans in the world.
Sigma Sreedharan
A Seattle resident since 1998, Sigma Sreedharan is an avid landscape and cityscape photographer who specializes in the Great Northwest. Her images have appeared in prestigious publications such as USA Today and People magazine, as well as online through National Geographic, CNN and BBC.
Brian Storm
Brian Storm is founder and executive producer of MediaStorm, MediaStorm publishes diverse narratives, offers advanced training seminars and collaborates with a diverse group of clients. MediaStorm’s stories and interactive applications have received numerous honors, including two duPont Awards, four Emmys, and five Online Journalism Awards.
Prior to launching MediaStorm in 2005, Storm spent two years as vice president of News, Multimedia & Assignment Services for Corbis, a digital media agency founded and owned by Bill Gates. From 1995 to 2002 he was director of multimedia at MSNBC.com
Storm received his master’s degree in photojournalism in 1995 from the University of Missouri. He lives in Menlo Park, CA and can be reached via [email protected].
Lee Varis
A photo-illustrator working in Hollywood, Lee has been involved in commercial photography for the last 35 years. Lee’s work has been featured on movie posters, video box covers, CD covers, numerous brochures and catalogs. He is responsible for the moth on the “Silence of the Lambs” movie poster! His creative imaging has been featured in National Geographic, Newsweek and Fortune magazines as well as trade journals like PDN, New Media, Micro Publishing News, Rangefinder and Photo Electronic Imaging. Most of Lee’s work starts off as photography that is manipulated in the computer using a wide variety of imaging software. Lee has also been involved with consulting and training activities for numerous corporate clients.
Lee’s published works include “Digital Photography for Creative Professionals” and “Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies”. His latest book is “Mastering Exposure and the Zone System for Digital Photographers”. As a fine artist, Lee has been working on a series of images based on the Tarot. Lee’s 40 years of experience in photography spans the transition from film to digital giving him an invaluable vantage point for teaching and inspiring future generations of artists.
Nevada Wier
Is a multiple award-winning photographer specializing in documenting the remote corners and cultures of the world. She is recognized for her creative and intimate approach to people. She has been published in numerous national and international publications, including: National Geographic, Geo, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Outdoor Photographer, Outside, and Smithsonian. Getty, Corbis, and National Geographic Images represent her stock photography. Her fine-art prints are featured in numerous and public and private collections. Nevada is a well-known keynote speaker and workshop and seminar instructor. She is a Fellow of The Explorer’s Club and a member of the Women’s Geographic Society.
Michael Lloyd-White
Michael is a social entrepreneur with an extensive background in strategic planning having consulted on staffing strategies for the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Since 2011 Michael has been the Chair of the peak national body, World Kindness Australia and in 2012 at the London 7th General Assembly, became the first elected General Secretary to the prestigious peak global body, The World Kindness Movement. He brings a unique experience to the table as a strategic leader able to motivate and inspire people to not only consider new ideas and concepts, but to embrace them, thereby becoming a catalyst for change. His inclusive and collaborative management style, supports his colleagues to contribute and thereby develops a fertile culture of inspired thinking outside the square.
During his tenure as General Secretary, Switzerland, Thailand, France, China, Pakistan, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico and Ukraine’s membership have been secured to the global campaign.He delivered the the Australian Prime Minister’s Message at the launch of World Kindness China in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 2013. Following the 2014 8th General Assembly in Sydney, the Prime Minister of Thailand has subsequently announced hosting the 1st World Leaders Kindness Summit in Bangkok to discuss global strategies to create a kinder world. Michael continues to deliver passionate keynote addresses to engage, inspire and influence our leaders and people of influence that a kinder world can be realised in our lifetime.