Explorers October 2013 | Page 16

The George Washington University/Planet Forward 805 21st Street NW Washingtion, DC 20052

Imani M. Cheers, Ph.D. ~ Director of Digital Content/Multimedia Producer

She is an award winning multimedia producer and Assistant Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C which she joined in May 2013.

Imani received her BFA in Photography at Washington University in St. Louis, a Master’s degree in African Studies and Research with a concentration in Women's Studies from Howard University and her doctorate in Mass Communications and Media Studies at Howard. Her area of expertise is the intersection of women/girls, technology and health/conflict/agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association for Media Literacy Education, DAWN (Diaspora African Women's Network) and a 2013 New Media Fellow with the International Reporting Project.

Sara Snyder~ Assistant Director of Digital Content/Explorer Fellow

Sara is a wildly creative and award-winning filmmaker, videographer, and photographer from Orlando, Florida. Sara's expertise in visual media has given her opportunities to work with many non-profit organizations including National Geographic Society, Believe Out Loud, the Clinton Global Initiative University. In her final semester at The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, Sara created a short documentary on LGBTQ homeless youth living in New York City titled, Verge of Existence. The project is currently being submitted to film festivals around the world.

Sara loves all things art and culture. She has danced her whole life and is passionate about giving silenced communities a platform to speak. If she could spend her life traveling the world with a camera in hand she would be happy forever. Sara is currently based in Washington, D.C. but is looking for a new adventure, hopefully on the West Coast.

Gabriella Demczuk ~ Photographer/Explorer Fellow

She is a visual journalist based in Washington, D.C.

Born in Sweden but raised in Luxembourg, Belgium, and later Baltimore, she studied fine arts and journalism at The George Washington University and photography at The Parsons School of Art and Design in Paris.

Gabriella has interned for NPR, The Baltimore Sun, and The Hill and was the Senior Staff Photographer and Multimedia Editor at The GW Hatchet. She currently shoots for The New York Times as the D.C. bureau Photo Intern.

She will always be most happy with a camera in hand.

Gabriella speaks English and French