Lauren Greenwald is a visual artist working in photography and video, using a range of traditional and contemporary methods to explore landscape, perception, and the experiential. She received her M.F.A. in Studio Art with a minor in Museum Studies from the University of New Mexico, and her B.A. in Art History and French from the College of Charleston. She has recently joined the faculty of MiraCosta College in Oceanside, CA; previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of South Carolina from 2014–2018 and taught at New Mexico State University from 2012–2014. She is a regular contributor to Fraction Magazine.

As an artist and educator, I am regularly challenged to re-evaluate how I view my art practice, my pedagogical approach, and the photographic discipline as a whole. I believe a crucial part of our role as educators is to foster curiosity and build community, and I have found SPE to be a fantastic resource for this. I first became a member of SPE in 2010, was privileged to be part of the communities of the Southwest and Southeast regions, and I am now looking forward to joining my new region, the West.  Our regional chapters have a unique opportunity to reach the next generation of students and to assist educators on a grass-roots level, while also providing an entry point to resources on the national and international levels. Moving forward, I believe we should encourage growth in the regional chapters as well as expand into a more internationally-focused organization. In our rapidly changing world, the world of photography and arts education is changing as well. I am confident SPE can continue to evolve to serve the larger community in more modern, innovative ways, and I want to be part of that initiative.

Thank you very much for your careful consideration in voting for the new members of the SPE Board of Directors.  I would certainly appreciate your vote, but I appreciate even more that you have taken the time to read the statements by all candidates.  SPE needs active and engaged members, like you, who are enthusiastic to participate and support the organization. 

I earned my MFA at the California State University in Fullerton in 2005, and my BA at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1992.  I have taught as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington since 2009, and as Associate Faculty at Collin College in Frisco, TX since 2006.  I have been an SPE member since 2003, have served as the Treasurer and Chair of the South Central SPE Chapter, and was on the Planning Committee for the 2016 South Central Chapter "retreat" conference at Camp Stewart, TX

For those who are interested in knowing more about my art practice, you can visit www.projectbarbatype.com. 

I love SPE.  This organization has been such a benefit to my education, my career, and my development as an artist.  But SPE faces significant challenges, and must adapt to support new pedagological methods, shifts in sources of financial support, increasing numbers of contingent faculty, and the growing pains associated with innovating new types of conference programming.

If elected, I will focus on three goals.  1) Developing alternative methods of fundraising, to ensure SPE's sound financial footing.  2)  Working to address the concerns of the new Contingent Faculty Caucus.  3) Facilitating effective communication between the general membership, Chapter officers, and the Board of Directors.

I am excited and honored for the opportunity to run for the SPE Board.

I joined SPE in 2002, as a graduate student.  During my 16 years of membership I've grown as an artist and educator, in large part, through the relationships and mentorship of fellow SPE members. Now, I am at the point in my career and life where I feel that I can give back to an organization that has given so much to me.

If elected I will focus on issues surrounding professional/ career development, educational support, student membership community building. Being a citizen of The Netherlands, growing up in the Caribbean and studying and working in the US since 2000, I am interested in developing the global reach of SPE.

I would also like to develop need-based scholarships for conference attendance for both students and contingent faculty.

I am tenured faculty at New Jersey City University, where my role as Coordinator of the Photo area, the BFA Coordinator,  Curriculum committee Chair and Co-chair of the dept. NASAD reaccreditation committee, has given me an understanding into photographic pedagogy that I can use. As an educator I've witnessed the assent of digital photography, and now the expansion into video and sound, as part of the photo based education. I have also exhibited work in many solo and group exhibitions. I have presented on the scholarship around my work at national and international conferences.

I hope to champion new outreach strategies of the Board and continue to develop the educational support that this organization provides to educators and students. I've enjoyed working collaboratively and serving on the Board has provided a unique opportunity to serve and give back to the photo community.

Joe Lavine is an author, educator, and photographer based in Colorado. Education has always been important to Joe; he holds an undergraduate degree from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, and a master's degree from Savannah College of Art and Design.  With twenty-plus years working in higher education, Joe has held positions as faculty, curriculum coordinator, and assistant director.

As an award winning commercial photographer, Joe has been fortunate to be able to blend his passion for food with his love of lighting and photography.  Some of his clients include, Coors, General Mills, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Nature Valley, and Kellogg's. Along with his commercial work, Joe is the Manager of Educational Services for Profoto US where he works with universities, photography departments, faculty, and students on taking their programs and work to a higher level.

In 2013, Joe co-authored the book Light Right:  Learn How to Create Images, Set Up a Studio, and Launch Your Career, and since has co-authored two e-books, and a video series on lighting fundamentals.  A new book on photography and lighting is soon to hit the press.  Joe can also be heard lecturing at ASMP events, SPE conferences, PhotoPlus and universities across the country.

Last year's SPE's call to action email highlighted the importance of a strong relationship between the organization, educational institutes, and industry.  The same topic was routinely discussed at the national conference in Philadelphia. Being an author, educator, and photographer gives Joe a comprehensive perspective on today's changing photographic and educational environment. Joe is motivated by progress. Serving on SPE's Board of Directors provides an opportunity to help lead the premier organization that serves two of Joe's strongest passions, photography and education.

Examples of Joe's work can be found on his websites at www.lavinephotography.com and http://www.joelavine.com

Mark Malloy is a Los Angeles-based photographer, filmmaker, and adjunct educator. A 2002 MFA Photography graduate from the SCAD and a 2009 MA Media Studies graduate from Parsons/New School, Mark has been an adjunct MFA Instructor at Academy of Art University since 2011, and was Assistant Professor of Technical Photography at Appalachian State University in North Carolina from 2002-2010. He has served on the SPE Board since 2015, and served as Chair of SPE's Southeast Chapter from 2006-2009.

Mark is currently producing the documentary film project Hearts Road (to be released in 2019) and has been involved as Director of Photography on the live-action short Writer's Block, as well as the documentaries Hollywood Don't Surf! (2010/2015), Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's (2013), and Beyond Boobs - The Weight Of Breasts (2018).

Mark's work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro (Havana, Cuba), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and the International Terminal at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

Since the birth of the medium, photographic education has always been geared largely toward addressing and exploiting changes in photographic technology. Today, our preparation of students for  survival in the real world, and the success or failure of that preparation, is being scrutinized to a far greater degree than ever before. As our newest cameras shoot both still and motion pictures, no longer can we say "Yes, but I don't teach video". We have already faced reality and begun adjusting our curriculum to incorporate the ever-changing capabilities of our core technology.

SPE was founded in part to create one of the few forums for the discussion of photography's aesthetics and it's place in visual culture. As that reality has changed, and as the annual conferences represent for most of us our sole interaction with SPE, the organization has begun refocusing its goals to more directly address our membership's oft-stated desire that these rare opportunities for interaction and collaboration more strongly address our core concern: the future and improvement of photographic education.

Antonio Martinez has been teaching photography at Southern Illinois University since 2005. He earned a BFA at Creighton University and an MFA at East Carolina University.  Martinez officially joined SPE in his final year as a graduate student in 2004.

I recognize and understand the myriad of reasons why students, academics, and career professionals join or attend an SPE conference. It ranges from trying to acquire special product discounts from vendors to pursuing possible leads to an exhibition or teaching position.  Everyone has different expectations, needs, and goals depending on their current situation. 

As a prospective SPE Board of Director, I want to continue addressing and improving upon these needs and visibility, as well as try new initiatives to involve more undergraduates. I seek to anchor SPE's commitment and identity to photographic practices and studies, without losing sight of the wonder, play, and communal energy that motivates us to investigate our culture with camera in hand. 

During my junior faculty period, SPE served as a springboard for the development and exchange of ideas and fostering networking opportunities. Attending a regional conference in Nashville lead to the inception of my stop-action tintype project, which three years later culminated in networking with prominent curators, collectors, and magazine editors.  Years later at a San Francisco conference, I presented a series of photos of amateur cagefighters, and received valuable input from attendees and benefitted in the same way as with the aforementioned project.  

Currently, I utilize SPE to meet faculty outside of the Midwest region to serve as guest jurors for Lux, a student fine art photo publication/competition, that I founded at SIU. Looking ahead, two future goals include transforming Lux into a scholarship-funding collegiate photography tournament and working to implement Fotofest's "Literacy through Photography" initiative through SPE.  

Talbot Easton Selby is a photographer whose roots began in Mississippi. Selby received his B.F.A. from Delta State Univer- sity in 2003 and his M.F.A. from Clemson University in 2006. He has exhibited his photographs in group and solo shows both nationally and internationally. Selby's work has been published in Delta Magazine, Metropolis Magazine, and Canadian Art Magazine. He is also the 2008 recipient of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for photography. Currently Selby resides in Conway, SC where he is an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Coastal Carolina University.

Fourteen years ago I attended my first Society for Photographic Education national conference in Newport, Rhode Island. As an impressionable graduate student the trip radically changed my perspective on the medium and it was through that conference that I met several life-long friends. Specifically, I remember the moments that I met Rebecca Nolan and later Marlaine Noel of Sprint Systems of  Photography. Those friendships have helped guide me  to where I am today.

For approximately fifteen years I have been active in the Southeast region. My involvement has included my participation as Vice Chair of the region, as treasurer, and co-hosting the 2011 regional conference in Myrtle Beach. I am well versed in the conferences organizational process through my work on the regional board, and as a former employee of Sprint Systems of Photography I have seen the organization through the eyes of a sponsor and vendor.

As a dedicated photographic educator, administrator, and photographic professional I understand the necessity of an organization such as S.P.E. It is through the organization that we discuss the future of the medium, the shape shifting nature of education, and fostering the creative and intellectual growth of future photographers. I am hoping to use my experiences as to continue the mission of the organization through student mentoring and the continued growth of the our core goals through education and creative collaboration.

Eric Weeks is a photography and video artist, a curator, and Chair of the Photography Department at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. His photography is represented by Galerie Catherine et André Hug in Paris, and his work is included in numerous permanent public collections. His monograph World Was in the Face of the Beloved was published by Pablo's Birthday. Weeks was the Exhibition Director of the 2016 Jeonju International Photography Festival in South Korea. In 2014, he co-chaired the Mid-Atlantic Regional SPE Conference.

In 2017-18, Weeks exhibited his photographs in China, South Korea, SIngapore and Paris. The Wind Dies The Sun Sets, a short film made in collaboration with Joshua Reiman, was screened at the 8th Cairo Video Festival and at Art COP22, Marrakesh.

The film was also named Open Call Winner, Art Speaks Out, ikonoTV, Berlin, among other awards.

Weeks received a MFA from Yale University, and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts.

For more information please visit: www.ericweeksphoto.com

My background as a photographic educator and administrator for over twenty years at PCA&D, School of Visual Arts, Hunter College/CUNY, LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, Teachers' College/Columbia University, Dartmouth College and Yale University, has given me extensive pedagogical, governance and leadership experience.

A point of interest is promoting greater SPE support for contingent faculty, and current students. I was an adjunct for twelve years before I was hired for my current full-time position in 2010, and I believe SPE can foster and engage these important groups within the community.

I would also like to concentrate on working with international and national organizations that can bring added diversity, ideas, and new members to SPE. I have developed relationships for my current institution with several universities in South Korea, and have made connections in China, Singapore, France and Mexico.