Staff

Staff

DIRECTORS

Gary Knight is the Executive Director and co-founder of The VII Foundation. 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 the Director and co-founder of The VII Foundation. 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 and his work, which has won numerous awards, is featured in museums and galleries worldwide. 

STAFF (in alphabetical order) 

Belita Blake, Communications Manager. 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 projects. 

Dr. David Campbell, Director of Education. David is an educator with a uniquely varied history of research, writing, strategy, and management within academia, government, and non-profit organizations. He is also the Managing Editor of Dispatches, The VII Foundation blog, and the online events program.  

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

Ajla Eljšani-Arnautlija, Office Manager, The VII Foundation, Sarajevo. Ajla studied German language and literature at the University of Sarajevo and brings 14 years of experience in the cultural sector to her role. She has successfully managed a wide range of international and regional projects spanning various fields. Her expertise includes extensive collaborations with governmental institutions and NGOs, where she has facilitated numerous impactful cultural initiatives. 

Jacqueline Farmer, Filmmaker and Director of Nature Through Her Eyes. Jacqueline holds a Master’s in Broadcast Journalism from the University of the Arts, London, and a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science from Durham University. Her career began in radio with the BBC World Service, but for the past 20 years, she has been devoted to natural history filmmaking. She has directed and produced many award-winning films and series for cinema and television. She began teaching filmmaking in the nature, environment, and conservation space with The VII Foundation in 2020, with a particular focus on women. She manages the Nature Through Her Eyes Festival and training courses and accompanies alumni as Executive Producer on film projects that come through the program. 

Ziyah Gafić, Director of The VII Foundation, Sarajevo. 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 our educational programming. His work focuses on Muslim communities and societies locked in a perpetual cycle of violence around the world. He has covered major stories in over 50 countries including conflicts in Chechnya, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.

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, Director of Communications. 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, collaborating with partners and bringing ideas to reality. She also manages student affairs across our education programs.  

Heleen Peeters, Editorial Coordinator. 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, Office Assistant, The VII Foundation, Arles. 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 our campus in Arles, such as exhibitions, events, and local relations. She also assists with the management of our educational programming. 

Nika Perne, 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 Assistant, 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 to the Executive Director and Financial Director. 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 E.A. to the Executive Director. 

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.”

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