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Lens on Life lead our second program with teens in Atlanta, Georgia in partnership with Atlanta Metro Boys & Girls Clubs April 8-12, 2013. See images from our second program.

See images from our first program with students in Kathmandu, Nepal in partnership with Koseli School in April 2011.

Upgrading your iPhone? Donate your 3GS or 4 to serve as a camera for our students. Learn more.

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Thank You

Board of Directors

Stephanie Calabrese Roberts, Founder and Chairman

Stephanie Calabrese Roberts is an award-winning documentary photographer and the creator of LittlePurpleCow Productions. In Spring 2009, Stephanie won the “Name Your Dream Assignment” global photography competition sponsored by Lenovo and Microsoft. This award has sent Stephanie and her "Picture Hope" project partner, Jen Lemen, on a journey to remote regions of Rwanda, Tanzania, and Nepal to capture and share images and stories of hope from courageous changemakers and wise individuals including modern-day slaves, genocide survivors, refugees, and the poorest of the poor. This project lead to the inspiration of Lens on Life.

Stephanie is a partner in and regular contributor to Shutter Sisters, the most popular online women's photography community, and a featured expert on Pixiq. Stephanie is the author of The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity (April 2011) published by Pixiq, a division of Sterling Publishing, in the US and Canada, and by Ilex Press in the UK. She is a co-author of Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sisters Guide to Shooting from the Heart (October 2010) published by Focal Press in the US and Canada, Ilex Press in the UK, and National Geographic in Germany.

Jen Lemen

Jen Lemen realized her life would never be the same on the fertile fields of Rwanda where little girls confided their dreams and old women took her by the hand to sit for long conversations she could not yet understand. This experience – discovering joy and commonality in unexpected places – inspired Jen to found Hopeful World, a digital publishing platform designed to bring ancient wisdom to modern learners.  Hopeful World collaborates with academics, storytellers, genocide survivors, taxi drivers, and artists to create online learning experiences that shift perspectives, expand possibilities and deepen hope.

Jen is also the co-founder of Mondo Beyondo, an online class about dreaming big, which she co-created with Andrea Scher. More than 3000 students have participated in Mondo Beyondo since its inception in August 2009.  Whether she is creating an online class or traveling the world collecting stories of transformation and hope, Jen is actively engaged in the study of human connection and how our capacity to cultivate openness across cultural and socio-economic divides impacts our experience of listening and our sense of belonging. You can find out more about Jen's work at jenlemen.com

Karen Walrond

Karen Walrond is a writer and photographer. She is a former engineer and a current (though non-practicing) attorney. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, including having covered topics as varied as parenthood, social media and women in leadership. She has appeared on both local and national television shows and other news media, including being quoted on CNN.com and making an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  Karen is the author of Chookooloonks, an award-winning photoblog. Her fine art photography pieces and projects have been included in exhibits around the country. She is a contributor to the book Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sisters' Guide to Shooting from the Heart, a guide for beginning and intermediate photographers for adding heart and soul to their imagery. Karen's writing, images and other projects have been featured on CNN.com, Good Housekeeping and Wondertime magazines among others.

Karen's new book, The Beauty of Different, is a chronicle of imagery and portraiture, combined with written essays and observations on the concept that what makes us different makes us beautiful -- and may even be the source of our superpowers. It is available from Bright Sky Press, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The book inspired BlogHer's Own Your Beauty initiative, where Karen is the lead blogger, and which also appears as part of USA Today's OwnIt campaign. Karen is originally from Trinidad & Tobago, but currently lives in Texas with Marcus (her English husband), Alex (her American daughter), and Rufus the Wonderdog.

Mark David Garrett

Mark Garrett is the Co-Chairman and member of the Executive Management Team of Moors & Cabot, a privately held financial services and wealth management firm with offices in Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona and California.  Mark brings to bear a broad range of operating experience, including strategy development and execution, financial management best practices, sales management and business development.

Prior to his involvement with Moors & Cabot, Mark was a business development director at Accenture, LLC where he was responsible for the management of strategic alliance relationships and new market exploration.  In his role at Accenture, Mark managed a variety of teams delivering operational efficiencies to Fortune 500 clients, including merger synergy management and analysis of acquisition and divestiture opportunities. Before his career at Accenture, he held account and project leadership positions at Elemental Interactive and Eagle River Interactive. Mark is an avid Texas Longhorns fan and enjoys spending time outdoors on the ranch with his family in Northern California.