Hello,

I am a first generation Peruvian-American who took an elective in Photography and fell in love. My teacher at the time submitted my images to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was awarded as an upcoming street photographer.

Since then my path has taken me to LaGuardia Community College where I jumped around from the ideology of what my parents wanted me to become versus what I had a passion to pursue. I chose to continue with a degree in Photography with Benedict Fernandez as my professor. It was here where I discovered my ability to edit work among peers I assisted in making portfolio selections. My passion was photojournalism and telling a compelling story through the process of photography was what I sought out to do. I worked for the Queens Courier, a local newspaper that had me on random assignments from political events to interviewing local businesses to landing my first cover. I wanted to continue, but once I had a cover I felt I could do more.

With portfolio in hand I interview for an internship with King Magazine. It was one of the magazine under the Harris Publication umbrella which also housed Revolver, Rides, Antenna, Quilt, Slam and XXL. I was hired and quickly adapted to the fast pacing industry of demand. Within 5 years with the publication I had photographed and produced shoots for many of these publications. I became photo director of the Women of King Magazine. Since then I have become a freelance photo editor on many projects.

In the interim of all photo, I entered a start up company with Ursula Manaf called EarthSeaWarrior , she had a year with her company and since we worked so well together at our time at Harris Publication I dove into the challenge. It was here where I learned the most about running a small artist business. Creating artwork from vintage dolls, repurposing vintage lights to having a manufactured Tushiez the business group rapidly. So rapidly we needed to WarriorTheFvckUp and that became our slogan and new merch. The business grew where Etsy, Apple, Fab and Urban Outfitters wanted to work with us, so we did. Our company became so hot, we ended up being featured in Forbes Magazine. As the company still continues in a more scaled back way, I started to miss the simple moments of photography.

I wanted to get back to the streets and wander and get back that love I had once of taking in life’s special moments. I thought back, I wish I knew then what I know now. I wanted to spread the word and the skill of photography as a tool use to discover ones self, ones community and ones underlying consciences. I found the Josephine Herrick Project , a non-profit organization putting cameras in the hands of those in need. I have been with them for 7 years now teaching for various schools. At the same time I started teaching for the Liberty Leads program at Bank Street College for 3 years. Teaching inspired me to get back to the root of it all, the purpose of photography. Now at 39 years old I can see the value in the art form and the responsibility of the story behind the lens.

Today, I am still teaching and participating in working with organizations that have to do with enhancing business, mental health, and creative ideas in photography. Wether its conceptualizing the next cover shoot for a music artist to creating a lesson plan for the next upcoming photographers to self healing by wandering around with my camera. Photography brings me ultimate joy.