Pete Souza

Pete Souza served as the Chief Official White House Photographer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and the Director of the White House photo office. His tenure under President Obama resulted in a number of noteworthy contributions, including the iconic photograph taken during the raid on Osama bin Laden. Souza's team also included photographers for Joe Biden and later Vice President Kamala Harris. During his service, he traveled with the president to document each meeting, trip, and encounter.

Souza has had an extensive career in photojournalism. He previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Photojournalism at Ohio University, the national photographer for the Chicago Tribune based in their Washington bureau, a freelancer for National Geographic, and the Official White House Photographer for President Reagan. He also spent time as a photographer for The Chicago Tribune from 1998 to 2007, during which he documented Senator Obama's campaign.

Souza's work has been recognized and published widely. In 2008, he published a bestseller photo book called "The Rise of Barack Obama." It includes exclusive photographs of Senator Obama's rise to the presidency. He also received a book deal from Little, Brown and Company to publish a book of photos from his tenure as White House photographer titled "Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs." In 2018, he released another book titled "Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents," a critical commentary juxtaposing the Obama and Trump administrations. His work was also featured in the 2020 documentary "The Way I See It."

Souza has received numerous accolades for his work, including being inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in 2021. He has won numerous photojournalism awards, including several times in the prestigious Pictures of the Year annual competition, the NPPA's Best of Photojournalism, and the White House News Photographers Association's yearly contest.

He has shared his expertise and experience through lectures at various prestigious institutions such as Harvard University, Boston University, Ohio University, the University of Kansas, Western Kentucky University, and Kansas State University. He has also exhibited his work in solo exhibits at various galleries and museums, including the Leica Gallery in NYC and the Kennedys Museum in Berlin.

Born in 1954, Souza is a native of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in public communication from Boston University and received his master's degree in journalism and mass communication from Kansas State University.