Major Stakeholders
Major Stakeholders
HOSSEIN FARMANI
Co-Founder and partner Hossein Farmani is a humanitarian and entrepreneur with a deep love of the arts. His name has been synonymous with design and photography for almost 3 decades. Farmani is Founder and Chairman of The Lucie Awards, Founder of Focus on Aids (FOA) and Co-founder of The Palm Springs Photo Festival. He is a principal of the Farmani Group, whose roster of companies includes PX3 (Prix de la Photographie, Paris), the International Design Awards (IDA), The International Photography Awards (IPA), Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA), Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA), Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) and Lighting Design Awards (LIT).
SUSAN BARAZ
Susan Baraz helped Found and is the Co-Chair of the prestigious, Lucie Awards. She is the Head of Judging for the International Photo Awards (IPA). Susan is the International Director of Photography for AtEdge, an invitation only, top commercial marketing program.
She’s a Creative Photography Consultant for both commercial and fine art photographers and enjoys helping them present their best by editing, paginating, designing and integrating all images into a cohesive presentation to market for commercial work and for fine art galleries. She’s interested to refer new and up and coming photographers to top galleries, as well as private dealers. Susan is known for her expertise in the field of fine art photography and is also an avid collector.
Susan, along with Hossein Farmani, curated the 200 images for the United Nations COP21 Climate Change exhibition in Paris, resulting in 196 countries signing onto an Accord to stop the devastation of this issue which effects us all. This startling exhibit continues to travel and has been shown in many countries around the globe.
She is the only American to be asked to jury the Prince of Dubai’s photo competition, HIPA. She has curated exhibitions at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, “Water” exhibition for PX3, Dupon Gallery, Paris, the 10th Anniversary IPA Best of Show, as well as major gallery exhibitions world-wide.
She has given lectures on the History of Photography, moderated, as well as participated, as a panelist in photography seminars both in person and online. She has edited and curated books for top photographers in all genres of the medium.
Susan, in 1987 helped establish and is the Chair of “Focus On AIDS” which became the largest fine art photo auction/benefit in the US. “Focus On AIDS” has built the only stand alone AIDS Hospital in the world, Asha Kirana, in Mysore, India and has created a number of other AIDS programs, throughout Africa, Asia and globally.
She is a portfolio reviewer and speaker for the graduating photography students at Arts Academy of SF, Art Center Pasadena, Palm Springs Photo Festival, and Otis Parsons. Photography is both her life’s work and her passion.
LAUREN WENDLE
Industry Visionary, Advocate, & Thought Leader for the Photographic Arts
An innovative, creative executive offering a wealth of experience defining and executing the photographic strategy for leading print and online magazines, trade shows, events, and educational conferences. Brings proven success driving sales and promotional activities for numerous magazines and online resources targeting the professional photographer.
Lauren Wendle is an independent business consultant and President of the Lucie Foundation (2018-Present), strives to advance the association’s defined mission to “honor master photographers, discover and cultivate emerging talent and promote the appreciation of photography worldwide.”
Most recently, as Vice President and Group Publisher for Emerald Expositions, Lauren led the Photography Group comprising the largest collection of magazines, websites, and trade shows geared toward professional photography in North America. During her eighteen year tenure, she coordinated editorial, sales and promotional activities for all magazines including Photo District News and Rangefinder magazine and oversaw all aspects of the two largest annual photography shows in North America: PhotoPlus Expo, and the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). Prior to joining Photo District News in 1994, Lauren served as Director for the Advertising Photographers of America (APA), and as Director of Photography at the Image Bank, the largest and most respected photo archives library of its time.
Lauren holds active board leadership roles in a number of industry and philanthropic associations. Lauren Wendle is a New York native, a graduate of New York University and mother to two daughters, Lily and Katie.
ALICE DISON
Alice Dison is a graduate from International Center of Photography photojournalism program in New York. She has recently been named Program Director for the Lucie Foundation. Prior to the Lucie Foundation, Alice has most recently worked for art fair organizations including Art Los Angeles Contemporary and Paris Photo Los Angeles. She is director for The Lucie Photo Book Prize and The Lucie Technical Awards, as well as director for the House Of Lucie gallery located in downtown Los Angeles.
Lori Reale is an independent business consultant with L&L Consulting.
Prior to this, she was the Senior Account Executive for Emerald Expositions. Lori provided unparalleled customer relationships for the largest collection of magazines, websites and tradeshows geared toward professional photographers in North America. During her 20 years in the industry, she generated sales and developed creative new marketing solutions for her team and clients, delivering outstanding customer service and project management for Photo District News and Rangefinder magazines. She also was instrumental in the success of the two largest annual photography shows in North America: PhotoPlus Expo and the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). Prior to that, she worked for Popular Photography and American PHOTO magazines helping to develop their new website and work strategically with clients to maximize their exposure in the photographic community.
She currently also works as VP of Sales for The Portrait Masters, which is dedicated to providing online and in-person education to both aspiring and established portrait photographers.
Lori graduated from James Madison University with a BA in Speech Communication. She lives in Arlington, VA with her husband and two wonderful children.