I have a diverse background in photography, which began during school some 20 years ago. A few rolls of film, an assignment, developing film in a dark room and making prints for the local newspaper was the routine then.

While finishing graduate school in journalism, I began work as a photography assistant for Sports Illustrated. I travelled extensively on assignments that varied from sports coverage and portraits to the Olympics, various world championships, and pretty much everything in between. Throughout this I was also assisting commercial and editorial photographers, in addition to shooting my own work.

This work laid the foundation for what I do today. Since moving abroad in 2012, my passion is working with non-governmental aid organizations in various fields -- from health and nutrition, farming and agriculture, to education and economics. These organizations provide critically needed resources to people in the developing world — and it’s vital to show both the needs of the people they serve as well as the important work these organizations do to help them.

Many of the people served by the NGOs don’t have access to the basics that many of us take for granted: nutritional food, potable water, basic medical care, productive agriculture techniques, basic educational materials -- the list goes on.

The people I photograph working with NGOs and similar organizations are the fabric of daily life in the majority of the world. And they deserve a voice. Their desire to learn and push forward in spite of their difficult situations is inspiring and humbling, and the fact that I get to meet them -- and they let me into their lives for brief period -- is something I’m always incredibly grateful for.

It's my hope that visually communicating their needs and their situations, and the efforts of the organizations I work with, will ultimately provide opportunities for them to prosper.