Steve Gottlieb, President, brings a distinctive background and skill set to VisionMining presentations and workshops. After graduating from Columbia University College and Law School, Steve practiced law in two large firms and in the federal government, where he served as Assistant General Counsel of the federal Office of Management and Budget. He left the legal profession to become Environmental Director for the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation. In these positions, he represented major corporations, managed a professional staff, reported to a board of directors, shaped corporate policies, served on White House task forces and testified before congressional committees.
  In a mid-life career shift, Steve became a professional photographer, producing images for a long list of Blue Chip clients, such as Chase Bank, IBM, NASDAQ and Pfizer. He received the ADDY Award for outstanding advertising photograph of the year in the northeastern U.S. He is the photographer—as well as author and designer—of six coffee-table books. One of his books, Abandoned America, was selected "Gift Book of the Year" by both People Magazine and USA Today. Eastman Kodak designated Steve a "World-Class Kodak Professional Icon," one of only six photographers so honored. He has been interviewed about his books and career on dozens of radio and TV programs. In 2004, Steve established Horizon Photography Workshops; he and thirteen other instructors offer photography workshops all across the United States.(www.horizonworkshops.com) American Photo magazine recognized Horizon as one of the "12 Outstanding Travel Workshops in the United States." Steve divides his time between Horizon and VisionMining.
  Steve is an avid classic movie fan and competitive tennis player (he’s been ranked #1 in men's 35, 40 and 45 age divisions in the Mid-Atlantic region). Father of two grown sons, he resides in Chesapeake City, MD.  steve@visionmining.biz

Karen Messick, Director, Business Development, has over thirty years experience in corporate executive leadership. As a recent (past) Vice-President and General Manager at Hecht Company and Macys department stores, Karen had primary responsibility for meeting a wide array of diverse challenges, including:
   >managed multi-million dollar sales goals and expense budgets, through hands on involvement with all aspects of the business
   >designed and implemented operating systems to increase efficiency
   >designed sales and customer service programs to improve staff-customer interaction
   >oversaw planning and managing new store openings and renovations of older facilities, which included working with construction teams, merchandising executives, visual planners and designers.
   >coached her team to improve hiring and increase retention.
Karen has served as a consultant to The Baltimore County and Baltimore City Economic Advisory Committees. She received an MBA from Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland and a Business Management Certificate from the University of Baltimore. Since leaving her executive position at Macys, Karen has begun a second career as a photographer. She's an instructor in digital photography in Johns Hopkins Odyssey Program and leads workshops for Penn Camera, in Washington, DC. Karen resides in Towson, MD and loves to spend her spare time in South Bethany, Delaware.

Diane Shapiro, Director, Administration, has had a career that has combined her love of photographs and words with her formidable management and organizational skills. At The Image Bank, then the world's largest, most prestigious stock photography agency, Diane managed a staff of over thirty. Her team served as the nerve center for 70 offices in 38 countries whose collection of 2,000,000 images were marketed worldwide. She also spent a decade in book publishing, where she was responsible for negotiating rights to signed first edition books, working closely with such noted authors as Maya Angelou, William F. Buckley, Arianna Huffington, Arthur Miller, Joyce Carol Oates, and John Updike. At the Wildlife Conservation Society, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo, Diane organized and expanded its underutilized century-old image library into a commercially valuable collection. Today, Diane is a consultant to photographers who seek her guidance in marketing their work (www.image-insight-consulting.com). She is also an instructor at Horizon Photography Workshops and a frequent speaker on the subject of image marketing. Diane is active in major professional associations, including the American Society of Picture Professionals, and the North America Nature Photography Association. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Diane has been involved in all aspects of VisionMining since its inception. She lives in Westchester, NY, where she is happily responsible for a menagerie of animals that range from cats to a bearded dragon.