Staff

Staff

Directors

Gary Knight is the CEO and co-founder of The VII Foundation, co-founder of the VII Photo Agency, and founder of the VII Academy.

Gary was a photojournalist between 1988 and 2017 and a former Newsweek Magazine photographer who covered the wars in Cambodia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, amongst others. Twice chair of the World Press Photo Award, and President of the Prix Bayeux Correspondents de Guerre, he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2009 and a Logan Non-Fiction Fellow at the Carey Institute in 2017. Gary founded and ran the Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice at Tufts University between 2011 and 2018.

Ron Haviv is Director and co-founder of The VII Foundation and co-founder of VII Photo Agency. He has dedicated his career to documenting conflict and raising awareness about human rights issues around the globe.
In the last three decades, Ron has covered more than twenty-five conflicts and worked in over one hundred countries. He has published four critically acclaimed collections of photography. Ron’s work, which has won numerous awards, is featured in museums and galleries worldwide.

Consultants

Dr. Paul Lowe, Academic Consultant, VII Academy. Paul is a Reader in Documentary Photography and the Course Leader of the Masters programme in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London, UK. Paul is an award-winning photographer whose work is represented by VII.

Andrew Turner, HR Manager, The VII Foundation. Andrew is an experienced CEO and board level Director who has led multi-national, cross-cultural businesses / teams to achieve significant growth. His experience ranges across different industries from FMCG to Biotech. At The VII Foundation, Andrew leads operations at high-level, including legalities, processes, and HR.

Staff
(in alphabetical order)

Belita Blake, Communications Manager, The VII Foundation. Belita is a graduate of the Arts University of Brighton. A creative professional, she has extensive international experience in communications with a varied skillset in marketing, branding, and design within arts and media organizations. At the VII Foundation, Belita works across all platforms.

Dr. David Campbell, Education Director, The VII Foundation. David is an educator with a uniquely varied history of research, writing, strategy, and management within academia, government, and non-profit organizations. He is responsible for VII Academy, VII Insider, and VII Community.

Giana Choroszewski, Manager of Operations (VII Photo) and Community Operations (VII Community). Giana is a graduate of New York University with a background in media management, Giana serves as an interface between NGO clients and VII photographers (including VII mentees and VII alumni) and freelance photographers.

Ziyah Gafić, Director of Operations, VII Photo. Ziyah is an award-winning photojournalist and videographer with a degree in comparative literature. He manages and directs projects for The VII Foundation and is a lead teacher within VII Academy. His work focuses on Muslim communities and societies locked in a perpetual cycle of violence and around the world. He has covered major stories in over 50 countries including conflicts in Chechnya, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan. Ziyah’s work has received many prestigious awards.

Ajdin Kapidžić, Producer, The VII Foundation. Ajdin holds a B.A. in Communications Science. He has a robust professional experience in media, having started his career in TV production through reporting for N1, the CNN affiliate TV channel in Western Balkans.

Amber Maitland, Managing Editor, The VII Foundation. Amber is a graduate of Georgetown University. Her varied career has taken her from Cambodia to Belize working for photography festivals, documentary film and TV productions, and the quarterly journal Dispatches. At The VII Foundation, her strengths include managing projects, no matter the size, collaborating with partners and bringing ideas to reality. She is also responsible for all technological queries for internal systems and co-manages student affairs for VII Academy.

Heleen Peeters, Editorial Coordinator, VII Insider. Heleen is a graduate of Leiden University (The Netherlands) and the University of the Arts London (United Kingdom). Heleen is a photographer with a background in photo editing and project management. At VII Insider, Heleen contributes to the programming, production, and outreach for live events and blog articles.

Marianne Pellerin-Lefebvre, Administrative Assistant, The VII Foundation. Marianne holds a Masters degree in Culture and Communication. She has a professional background working for museums and heritage sites. At The VII Foundation, Marianne focuses on projects linked to the Alexandra Boulat campus such as exhibitions, events, and local relations.

Nika Perne, VII Community Manager. Nika is an Art History and Comparative Literature graduate from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. In the last decade, she has worked with several non-governmental organizations, public institutes, and private initiatives as a curator, producer, and project manager in photography and contemporary arts. In recent years, she has focused more on producing festivals and conferences, cooperation projects, and the management of networks. She is driven by inspiring storytelling and care for communities focusing on photography, light art, and digital technologies.

Ava Romero, Production Associate, The VII Foundation Films. Ava is a graduate of the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, where she received a BA (Hons) in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography. At The VII Foundation, Ava has previously assisted in educational programs, including VII Community and Foundry Photojournalism Workshop.

Marianne Tollié, Executive Assistant CEO and Finances Manager, The VII Foundation. Marianne holds a B.A. in Economics and a Masters in Corporate Finance from Sciences-Po Paris, as well as a Masters in Fashion & Luxury. After a career focused on brands operations, team management and international franchises both in Europe and the Middle East, she is now Financial Director of The VII Foundation, and the EA to the CEO.

Fiona Turner, Director, The VII Foundation Films. Fiona is a five-time Emmy award-winning producer and documentary filmmaker. After 20 years of broadcast experience with ABC News and NBC News, much of it in war zones and areas of conflict, she now focuses her narrative storytelling on social justice and human rights issues with The VII Foundation. Her documentary feature “Eat Up” takes a personal look at what it takes for an entrepreneur to reinvent school lunches in Boston’s Public Schools. Most recently Fiona produced and co-edited The VII Foundation book, exhibition, and education project, “Imagine: Reflections on Peace.”

Yonola Viguerie, Manager of Operations, VII Academy, Arles, France. Yonola is a graduate of the Beaux Arts in Toulouse, France. Before joining The VII Foundation she worked for Agence VU*, Paris, and for the Magnum Gallery, Paris. In 2009 she co-created with photojournalist Philip Blenkinsop the celebrated 2SnakesStudio in Bangkok. Yonola is now managing the Alexandra Boulat Campus, headquarters of The VII Foundation and of VII Academy in France, in all its local, national, regional, and international collaborations, with a focus on developing educational projects that are at the core of The VII Foundation’s mission.

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