Stronger Together: Building Community in Visual Journalism
To kick off the 2026 Northern Short Course, this conversation brings together three photographers and community leaders who have built spaces that support, mentor, and elevate the next generation of visual storytellers.
Sophie Park of Green Street Photo Collective, Mav Fernandez of Modular Studios, and Faith Ninivaggi of the Photographic Resource Center will discuss the importance of building and sustaining community within photojournalism. Drawing from their work creating collaborative spaces, mentorship programs, and educational opportunities, they’ll explore how giving back strengthens both individual careers and the field as a whole.
The conversation will look at the real impact that creative communities, shared resources, and mentorship can have—both within the photojournalism industry and in the broader communities photographers serve. Together, they’ll reflect on how investing in others helps shape the future of visual storytelling and the lasting influence photojournalists can have when they support the growth and success of those colleagues and those coming behind them.
Speakers
Faith Ninivaggi
Faith Ninivaggi is an artist, documentarian, and educator. Her work is informed by the duality of her own life as a mother and photojournalist. She has spent the past two decades working as a photojournalist and has been published extensively worldwide. Faith has received numerous awards for her work. Her work photographing during the pandemic, in collaboration with the creative team at WCVB, earned her an Emmy Award. In 2021, she was nominated again for her work with Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 2022. She has been a Critical Mass Finalist three times and received an honorable mention in the 17th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for her portrait series, GenZ (a collaboration). Ninivaggi’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. She holds a BFA in photography from The Art Institute of Boston and an MFA in Photography + Integrated Media from Lesley University. She runs her own freelance business photographing portraits, editorial, and commercial commissions for local and national corporations. Faith is a professor at Curry College, serves as the Photographic Resource Center’s President, and is Chair of the Boston Press Photographers Association board.
Sophie Park
Sophie Park is a freelance photojournalist who covers social, political, and environmental issues in New England. Her work is informed by her upbringing as a third-culture-kid, which cultivated an interest in the nuances of identity and belonging. A regular contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, Park received her B.A. in international relations from Boston University and was previously a photography fellow at the Texas Tribune.
Mav Fernandez
Mav Fernandez (1996, Lawrence MA) is a Dominican photographer whose artistic practice centers on photography as a means of
reflection, connection, and understanding. Mav is interested in how images can hold emotional truth, and how they help us see ourselves and others more clearly.