2024 Vital Impacts Grant and Mentorship Recipients

María Magdalena Arréllaga focuses her work on social, gender, political, and environmental issues across Latin America. She is currently documenting how communities in the Pantanal—the world’s largest wetland—are confronting the impacts of climate change.

Charlie Cordero is a documentary photographer based in the Colombian Caribbean. His project will look at how the community of Santa Cruz del Islote, the most densely populated island, is fighting against rising sea levels with mangrove reforestation.

Ana Caroline de Lima is a photographer, journalist, PhD in anthropology and 2021 National Geographic Explorer. Her work focuses on the human relationship with the natural environment and contemporary culture. Her project will be looking at the beautiful symbiosis between the residents of the surrounding villages in Serra do Espinhaço and an endemic flower facing extinction.

Jessica Hadley has spent the last decade focusing on human-wildlife interactions, particularly in National Parks. She will document the importance of wild bears in Yosemite and the efforts of wildlife biologists to prevent human-bear conflicts.

Oyewole Lawal is a talented photographer, visual artist, and storyteller dedicated to capturing life’s essence through his lens. His project, Guardian of Gaia: The Unseen Eco-Warriors, honors Lagos waste miners and celebrates their vital, heroic work in environmental stewardship.

Guerchom Ndebo uses photography to communicate his concerns on complex subjects and to stimulate reflection on contemporary issues. He will examine the opposing pulls of freshwater versus copper and cobalt mining, reflecting the daily struggles of communities around the Lualaba River, a critical tributary of the Congo River.

Francesca Page is an award-winning wildlife photographer and conservation photojournalist known for her powerful underwater and wildlife imagery. She will document the National Lobster Hatchery's innovative conservation efforts to protect the European Lobster.

Ahmed Qabel is a photographer and visual storyteller from Egypt. He was selected as one of the top five participants in the Canon Student Development Program. His work highlights social issues and marginalized communities, with a current project focusing on the impact of climate change on small farmers and Egypt's agricultural sector.

Kianoush Saadati is a photographer from Iran who focuses on environmental issues. His project will explore how owls shifted from symbols of wisdom to sinister birds due to cultural changes, documenting the efforts of the organization Mandana as it rehabilitates injured owls and challenges superstitions.

Ela Zdešar's project will highlight the efforts of three women who have created a community of guardians for nature to protect the European wetlands and true wilderness both around us and within.

David Walter Banks is a photographer and environmental-advocacy artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. His work ranges from stylized portraiture and documentary photography to environmental-issue based long-term projects.

David Barreda is a visual editor, multimedia producer, curator, and journalist based in Oakland, California. He is also the co-founder of Diversify Foto.

D.J. Clark first described himself as a multimedia journalist back in 1994 while single-handedly covering the British Winter Special Olympic team for TV, radio and print. He now has over 30 years experience working with media organisations across the world as a video producer, photojournalist, presenter, writer, trainer and multimedia consultant.

Ben de la Cruz is an award-winning documentary video producer and multimedia journalist. He is currently a senior visuals editor. His coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa won him a Peabody and World Press Award.

National Geographic Explorer Ronan Donovan is a wildlife biologist turned conservation photographer. He uses visual storytelling to illuminate stories related to our fellow social mammals to remind us that we are all connected.

Melissa Farlow has worked extensively for National Geographic magazine in the American West for stories on public lands, environmental issues and wild horses. Primarily known for her personal approach when photographing people, Farlow documented diverse cultures and landscapes while in South America, Quebec, Alaska, the Alps, and the Okefenokee Swamp in over 20 National Geographic projects.

Britta Jaschinski is a London based photographer investigating the human - nature relationship and its impact. She documents crimes against wildlife and nature. Known for her unique style in photojournalism, she works with authorities, charities, museums and environmental organizations. 

Lynn Johnson was recently named the Alexia fellow for 2024. She is known for shooting elusive subjects—language, disease, rape, water—and for asking tough questions. Dedicated to exploring the far reaches of the human condition, she spends maybe two months a year at home in Pittsburgh, packing that camera bag over and over.  

Sarah Leen is a photographer, a photo editor and a teacher. In 2013 she became the first female Director of Photography of National Geographic magazine. In 2020 she founded the Visual Thinking Collective. .

Kathy Moran is a renowned photo editor and project consultant. Previously, she served as National Geographic magazine’s deputy director of photography. As the magazine’s first senior editor for natural history, Kathy has produced projects on terrestrial and underwater ecosystems since 1990, editing over 350 stories for the magazine.

Brian Skerry is a photojournalist and film producer specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine covering stories on every continent and in nearly every ocean habitat. In 2014 he was named as a National Geographic Photography Fellow and then named a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellow in 2017. In 2017, he was also awarded the title of Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

Paolo Verzone is an Italian photographer based between Italy and Spain. He has been a member of Agence VU since 2003 and for almost 30 years, Paolo has been photographing the world around him.