Independent Photographer, Alyssa Schukar Photography: Chicago + Washington, D.C. 2014-Present
I love collaborating with reporters on national assignments. I also love to pitch, write and photograph stories in close collaboration with photo and story editors. My writing, motion and stills work have appeared on PBS NewsHour and in The New York Times, The New Yorker, TIME, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic, among others. I have extensive experience working under logistical and deadline pressure. I am an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and I am adept in Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, Premiere and other industry-standard software.
The national hunger relief organization contracted me to produce visual and written stories of food pantry staff, volunteers and clients. I researched and organized reporting trips, and once on the ground, I maintained high standards of accuracy, quality and respect. I always looked for ways to innovate and launched a series of moment-based video portraits featuring volunteers, staff and food recipients.
Staff Photojournalist, The Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska 2008-2014
At this mid-sized newspaper, I sharpened my news judgment on documentary, portrait, sports and video assignments. I generated my own story ideas, which were honored by World Press Photo and Pictures of the Year International, and I developed relationships with senior editors and executives who entrusted me with a two-month military embed in Afghanistan. Most importantly, I became a journalist who understands the power of listening and the importance of empathy and curiosity.
Studio Assistant, Malone and Co.: Omaha, Neb. 2008
Photo Intern, The Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach, Fla. 2006
Photo Intern, The Omaha World-Herald: Omaha, Neb. 2006
Photo Intern, The Toledo Blade: Toledo, Ohio 2005
Photo Intern, The Daily Press: Newport News, Va. 2004
Select Leadership Roles + Education
Co-Founder + Co-Director, Prism Photo Workshop: Chicago 2019-Present
Producer + Lead Instructor, UnionDocs Photography Workshop: New York City 2020
Keynote Speaker, NPPA’S Women in Visual Journalism Conference: Dallas 2019
Instructor, Columbia College Chicago: Chicago 2014-2018
Instructor + Developer, United Airlines Photo Workshops: NYC + Chicago 2017
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Bachelor of Journalism
Select Clients
Editorial & Journalism
The Atlantic, Businessweek, Buzzfeed, Chicago Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Chronicle of Higher Education, CNN, Curbed, Der Spiegel (Germany), Education Week, ESPN, The Guardian: Weekend Magazine (U.K.), Great Big Story, The L.A. Times, Maclean’s Magazine (Canada), Mother Jones MSNBC, National Geographic magazine, Nature, Newsweek, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, NPR, Politico, ProPublica, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, The Telegraph (U.K.), The Trace, US News and World Report, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Yahoo News
Nonprofit, Commercial & Corporate
American Legion, Aramark, Black Sun advertising agency, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Booz Allen, Capital Area Food Bank, Chicago Child Care Society, Comcast, Commonwealth Fund, Economic Hardship Reporting Fund, FeedMore Richmond, Feeding America, First National Bank, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Land O’Lakes, Liederbach & Graham Architects, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Marriott Creative, MCI Commercial, Microsoft, Natural Resource Defense Council, Rush Hospital, T Brand, Southern Poverty Law Center, Union Pacific, the University of Chicago, UPS, the Urban Institute, US Bank and The Vega Group
2023 American Society of Magazine Editors: Public Interest award ‘Paid Leave’, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 Women Photojournalists of Washington: Annual Juried Exhibition, 2022, 2021, 2020 Newswomen's Club of New York Annual Show, 2020 Picture Resistance: Moments and Movements of Social Change from the 1950s to Today, 2019 "Some People" (Every)Body: How Do People Define Healthcare, Health Insurance and Health? Chicago, 2019 Click DC: inSIDER/outSIDER Installation, 2019 Beyond Standing Rock: Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2018 The Gerald Loeb Award for Business Reporting: ‘Culture of Harassment’, 2018 Photoville NPPA exhibition: New York, NY, 2017 National Press Photographers Assoc. Best of Photojournalism:Cliff Edom’s New America Award,2017 Harper Collins: Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World, 2017 Photoville Women Photograph exhibition: New York, NY 2017 Extant: Women Photograph: Lincoln, Nebraska, 2017 50 x 50/The Subject is Chicago: People, Places, Possibilities: Chicago Cultural Center, 2017 Standing Rock Indian Reservation: The Protest Against the Dakota Access Pipeline: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2017 Review Santa Fe: New Mexico, 2016 New York Times Portfolio Review: New York City, 2016 Population: Elsie: Lincoln, Nebraska, 2016 Here, Now and Always: Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2015 APhotoADay Backyard Storytelling Grant finalist, 2015 City University of New York Graduate Schools of Journalism: Visual Storytelling Workshop, 2014 World Press Photo: Sports Picture Feature Story, 2014 Pictures of the Year International: Sports Feature Award of Excellence, 2014 Missouri Photo Workshop through the University of Missouri, 2014 World Press Photo Exhibition: Amsterdam and Worldwide, 2014 Nebraska Cowboys: Lives, Legends and Legacies: Nebraska History Museum, 2013 Pictures of the Year International: Feature Award of Excellence, 2006 Eddie Adams Workshop: Jeffersonville, New York
2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 Co-director of the Prism Photo Workshop, 2023 NPPA Mentorship Program mentor, 2023, 2022 Co-director of the Missouri Photo Workshop, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 Faculty member at the Missouri Photo Workshop, 2021 Stills judge for Pictures of the Year International, 2020 UnionDocs workshop: The Foundations of a Photographic Voice: Writing our Origins, 2020 Workflow on Deadline for the Authority Collective, 2020True Chicago Workshop speaker series, 2019 Keynote speaker at the National Press Photographers Association's Women in Visual Journalism conference, 2019 International Women's Media Fund: Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program mentor, 2019 Stills judge for the National Press Photographers Association Best of Photojournalism, 2019 Stills judge for the Perry Photo Competition, 2018 Stills judge at the Michigan Press Photographers Association in East Lansing, Michigan, 2017 Photography instructor and seminar developer for Visa Mileage Plus and United Airlines workshops in Chicago and New York City, 2017 Speaker and organizer for True Chicago, 2014–2017 Adjunct Instructor in Visual Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, 2012–2013 Adjunct Instructor in Visual Journalism at University of Nebraska-Lincoln