After working in the photo department of the French daily newspaper Libération and then at the photo agency Imapress, Stéphane Arnaud joined Agence France-Presse (AFP) in May 2000 as a Photo Editor. Holding a master’s degree in History and a diploma from the Ecole supérieure de journalisme (ESJ) in Paris, he became deputy head of the desk in 2005, then deputy Photo editor-in-chief in charge of Image Forum, the AFP photo platform, where he oversees the selection and prioritization of photo production for the agency’s clients.

In 2015, he was appointed Head of photo for Europe, a position he held until 2016, when he was named Global Photo Editor-in-Chief. After serving in this role for nearly ten years, he was appointed in January 2026 Deputy Central Editor-in-Chief, responsible for editorial curation of AFP’s multimedia content on its platform.

Gail Fletcher is a Photo Editor at The Guardian, where she develops and produces visual stories. She is also on faculty at the International Center of Photography and was previously an Associate Photo Editor at National Geographic. Several of the projects she produced alongside editors and photographers received recognition from organizations including Pictures of the Year, ASME, and World Press Photo.
She has served as a juror for the Alexia Grant, Review Santa Fe, American Photography, and others, and she regularly reviews portfolios to help photographers and artists refine their best work. Originally from South Florida, she is now based in Brooklyn, New York.

Renée C. Byer is an award-winning American documentary photojournalist best known for her in-depth work focusing on the disadvantaged and those who otherwise would not be heard. Her ability to produce photographs with profound emotional resonance and sensitivity earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 2007 and dozens of national and international honors, including the World Understanding Award from Pictures of the Year International, and Pulitzer Finalist in 2013.
Byer’s internationally acclaimed book, Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor, illuminates the stories of people living on the brink of survival, and invites you to put an end to extreme poverty.

Grateful to be serving the global photographic community as The Alexia’s curator of communications, design and exhibits, Claudia Strong believes in the irrefutable power of visual communication to connect one human being to another. Originally from Chile and a former journalist, she is now in her 19th year teaching graphic design and writing to emerging designers, photographers, and filmmakers at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in New York. While on sabbatical in 2023, she served as a visiting scholar with the VII Foundation in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and has since curated and designed numerous national and international exhibitions to present and promote meaningful photographic storytelling.

Bruce Strong an award-winning photo and video storyteller, The Alexia Endowed Chair, and associate professor at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, where he teaches and oversees international grants, fellowships, and exhibitions. He has traveled to more than 80 countries, with images appearing in TIME, National Geographic, and other outlets. Formerly a staff photojournalist in California, he also freelanced globally and published Armenia: The Story of a Place in Essays & Images. Strong founded Photo Night® and has held fellowships with the Knight-Wallace program at the University of Michigan, Scripps Howard at LSU, Knight Fellow at Ohio University, VII Foundation in Bosnia, and MediaStorm in NYC.
His students have won top awards, including two College Photographer of the Year titles. He lectures and leads workshops worldwide, with recent projects and exhibitions in the Balkans, China, and Lithuania. Most importantly, he is proud of his sons, Jack and Cole, and loves adventuring with his wife, Claudia.

Laura Covelli is the exhibit curator for the Festival of Ethical Photography.

She began her professional career at the United Nations, working in the fields of visual communication, marketing, and corporate social responsibility. She has always been involved in visual literacy activities through programs created in collaboration with photographers, institutions, schools, and non-profit organizations.

In her role at the Festival, where she has been working for over 10 years, she has curated exhibitions of internationally renowned photographers, promoted photography as a tool for social and ethical reflection, and moderated talks and book presentations with photographers and journalists. She also coordinates educational programs for students and teachers, the World Report Award | Documenting Humanity, and the Open Call for the non-profit sector, while also teaching with a particular focus on social photography and reportage.

Alberto Prina is the Director and Founder of the Festival of Ethical Photography.

He regularly participates at international contests and festivals as a jury member and portfolio reviewer. He is the creator of the Travelling Festival, exhibits that have been ideated and curated in Lodi that travel across Italy and Europe to amplify the photographers’ voices. He works as a reportage photographer for non-profit organizations developing projects in the field of photographic communication, multimedia and collaborative photography. He also organizes courses and workshops.

His passion for photography started in 2004. Since the very beginning, his interest has focused on social reportage photography.

After having attended several photography courses in 2007 Aldo Mendichi started a documentary project about the Northern Ireland question, “The Troubles”.

Since 2010, he has been one of the coordinators of the Festival of Ethical Photography.

He is also a member of the editorial staff of Ludesan Life, an online reportage magazine which tells stories related to the province of Lodi.