P R O F E S S I O N A L P R O F I L E
• Professional photographer and Photo Editor; Author of iCOVER; Official Photographer for the global #MyJihad Public Education Campaign
• Recognized as a leading artist by The White House in 2010
• Received Top Achievement Award in the Arts by Council of Islamic Organization of Greater Chicago in 2013
• Only photojournalist chosen from around the world to attend the 2016 DS Center for Policy Studies’ Spring Journalism Academy held in 3 cities in Turkey
P R O F E S S I O N A L A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S
• CEO, Sadaf Syed, Inc., Chicago, IL, 1992-present
• Publisher, author, co-graphic designer, account manager, distributer and photographer of the photo documentary book, iCOVER: A Day in the life of a Muslim-American COVERed Girl.
http://www.amazon.com/iCOVER-Life-Muslim-American-COVERed-Girl/dp/B004NN1ZEU
iCOVER has been honored in the U.S. and internationally in several medium’s including The Huffington Post; ABC 7 News, Chicago; The Chicago Tribune; ZAMAN Newspaper, Turkey; Emel; Lifestyle Magazine, London; The Gulf Today; DAWN NEWS and more
• Invited by Ruler of Sharjah and attended the opening event of ‘iCOVER’ a photo-documentary exhibition in 2011 at the prestigious Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization
• Photo art exhibitions at various events and galleries in Los Angeles and Chicagoland
Delivered presentations and participated in panel discussions on various topics as: Muslims in the Arts, Muslim women in Islam and Muslim women in the media
• Editorial photography for Huffington Post, Al Jazeera America, Daily Sabah, Patheos and Muslim Girl Magazine (click on hyperlinks to view)
• Traveled cross-country photographing and writing about culturally diverse American Muslim women for the book iCOVER
• Produced high quality portraits for various assignments; keen at capturing a message, mood or essence of a campaign through photographic imagery
• Technology savvy in printing, scanning, archiving, lighting effects, equipment (lighting, camera, printers,) Adobe Photoshop, iPhoto, Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel
AL JAZEERA AMERICA, NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, CHICAGO, PHOTO EDITOR & PHOTOJOURNALIST, 2013 – 2016
• Commissioned, curated, researched and produced documentary, journalistic and other narrative content for digital, combining photography with text and video
• Applied story-telling skills at Al Jazeera America (AJAM) website to producing slideshows on politics, conflict, entertainment, and more
• Only staff Photojournalist for AJAM digital team working on a variety of stories, including diversity- focused, such as: Refugees In America; Transgender Youth; California Draught; Immigration; and Police Killings of Minorities
TIMOTHY WHALEY & ASSOCIATES, LISLE, IL, PRODUCTION MANAGER, AND PHOTOGRAPHER, 1999-2001
• Photojournalist style, wedding photography
• Marketing and lead generation at conventions and expos
• Lead weekly and monthly meetings with Production staff
REPORTER – PROGRESS NEWSPAPER, DOWNERS GROVE, IL, STAFF PHOTOJOURNALIST, 1998-1999
• Community photographer for seven cities
BUZZ MAGAZINE, LOS ANGELES, CA, INTERN, 1997-1998
• Screened photographs for BUZZ weekly magazine
• Photo editing with visuals and written research
ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (NBC), BURBANK, CA, TELEVISION PRODUCTION, INTERN AND RECEPTIONIST, 1997-1998
• Assisted photographers during celebrity photo shoots
• Assisted photo editors and researchers on celebrity facts and visuals Researched articles on celebrities; Assisted with editing of TV segments pieces
• Screened videotapes of celebrity news and events; Filed fashion, news, sports, and entertainment related articles
GRAPHIC SERVICES & PROMOTION, FULLERTON, CA, PHOTOGRAPHER, 1996-1997
• Produced special “shoots,” such as the $100,000 budget project for the Associated Student Body of the Titan Monument – one of the tallest structures in Orange County and a special source of school pride
• Worked with art directors to help artists convey their advertisements through photographic imagery
• Managed a black & white photo lab
E D U C A T I O N
The California State University at Fullerton
Bachelor of Arts (Emphasis on Photo Communications)
January 1997
The California State University at Pomona
Journalism/Communications
Reporter/Photographer PolyPost Newspaper
Download Sadaf's Resume as a Pages document here