Sarah Leen

Sarah Leen became the first female director of photography for National Geographic Partners Photography and Visual Media in 2013, leaving in 2019, to launch the Visual Thinking Collective for independent women visual editors, curators, and teachers. For nearly twenty years she worked as a freelance photographer for the National Geographic magazine until 2004, when she joined the staff as a senior photo editor.

Leen teaches photography and photo editing workshops at the Eddie Adams Workshop, Maine Media Workshops, Santa Fe Workshops, and the PhotoLux Festival in Lucca, Italy.

Leen was most recently the photo editor on the 2020 FotoEvidence World Press Book Award recipient Habibi by Antonio Facciolongo, and the National Geographic book Women: The National Geographic Image Collection. She is the primary photo editor for the VII Photo Agency’s visual series America, Again published on Medium. Leen mentors individual photographers on long term projects, and with contest and grant proposals.

Shannon Simon

Shannon Simon is the founder and director of Mantle Projects, a creative development and production company based in New York. For nearly four years Shannon was the global content director, and director of the Americas for Magnum Photos, where she managed a global content and editorial team, as well as the New York office. She previously held roles as the photography director for Interview Magazine and was a photo editor for The New York Times Magazine. For almost a decade she worked with multidisciplinary artist Taryn Simon, developing and producing projects, exhibitions, and publications. Shannon is currently a contributing photo editor for The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Lauren Steel

Lauren Steel is a founding member of the Visual Thinking Collective. She is a visuals consultant for photographers, brands, media, agencies, foundations, and nonprofits, to craft authentic visual narratives. She is currently a contract photo editor at The New York Times, and she recently curated two floors of office space in Hudson Yards with compelling, socially relevant imagery from around the world. Previously, she was director of photography at Verbatim Photo, a subsidiary of Getty Images that she co-founded in 2016. Lauren was a part of the rebranding and launch of Getty Images Reportage, where she started the Emerging Talent program. She was at Getty Images for fifteen years. Lauren has collaborated with award-winning photographers to produce exhibits, photo-books, and campaigns worldwide. She has guest lectured at International Center of Photography, School of Visual Arts, and Columbia University, judged numerous photo competitions, and regularly reviews portfolios for various workshops around the world.

Elizabeth Krist

A photography editor at National Geographic for over 20 years, Elizabeth Krist is now on the boards of Women Photograph and the W. Eugene Smith Fund. A founding member of the Visual Thinking Collective, she works with the Eddie Adams Workshop, Apple, and teaches for ICP. Krist curated Women of Vision and co-curated three previous Photoville installations and CatchLight’s 2023 Visual Storytelling Summit. She has recently collaborated with Authority Collective, the Griffin Museum of Photography, FotoFest, Lenscratch, and the Joop Swart Masterclass.

Visual Thinking Collective

The Visual Thinking Collective is a group of creative, independent women committed to supporting photography and storytelling. Founded in 2020, the collective is focused on collaboration, education, and mentorship with the goal of contributing to the continued advancement of the visual community.