Kristen Ashburn

The Kristen Ashburn keynotes explore the epidemic and impact of AIDS in Africa through photographs. Ashburn uses her photographs to paint a grim picture of the realities that some many innocent souls have and continue to face.

As an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, Ashburn photographs the stories of struggle of individuals all over the globe. Since 2001, Ashburn documented the effect of AIDS in Africa and Tuberculosis in Russia. In terms of her education, Ashburn received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography from New York University. With her work appearing in publications like The New Yorker and Life, Ashburn's photographs capture the heartbreaking realities of disease.

Currently, Ashburn is a co-director of 'Through the Eyes of Children: The Rwanda Project,' a non-profit organization that teaches orphans and victims of the Rwanda genocide about photography. She is also an consulting producer for the documentary 'I Am Because We Are.'

Due to her extensive work documenting the detriments of society, Ashburn was awarded 'National Press Photographers Association's (NNPA) Best of Photojournalism Award' three times and the 'Marty Forscher Fellowship for Humanistic Photography.' She was named by Photo District as one of '30 Under 30 Photographers.'

As an author she is most recognized for her publication 'I Am Because We Are,' a book of images that shows her documentary work in Africa. With heartbreaking images that hope to spread awareness of the plights of plagues still faced, the Kristen Ashburn keynotes are honest discussions about the fragility and frailty of human life.