Meet the Staff

José Azel, President - Portland, Maine

José Azel received a BA from Cornell University, where he began shooting pictures for the annual. After completing his Masters in Journalism at the University of Missouri, he joined the staff of the Miami Herald. Since 1981, Azel has been a freelance photojournalist for international magazines. As a consultant on photojournalism and multimedia, Azel has worked for Apple Computer, Inc., Scholastic, Inc. and Time, Inc. In 1993, together with Bob Caputo, he founded a hybrid company called Aurora and Quanta Productions that helped define the digital narratives a bit before the market was ready. Today, Aurora Photos is a successful photo agency circling back to digital storytelling. When not shooting or leading Aurora, Azel spends most of his time wondering why he didn't become a neurosurgeon.

Shawn Cohen, Production Manager - Portland, Maine

Shawn (pictured here holding the very valuable Submission Guidelines) graduated from Northeastern University where she recieved her BA in Photography. During her time there, she worked at several photography-related jobs, including one with the Red Cross, one photographing sushi, and most notably, at Bicon Dental Implants. While there, she not only photographed oral surgeries, but single-handedly researched, installed and implemented a new organizational system to streamline storage of thousands of clinical photographs and case studies. She lives in Freeport.

Sarah Cotter, Account Executive - Portland, Maine

Before working at Aurora, Sarah graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Visual Journalism. She then worked as a Digital Editor for Bruce Coleman, Inc. in New York. In her free time she loves to photograph, cook, be creative and spend time on her boat in the summer. Sarah lives in South Portland, Maine with her boyfriend and their dog.

Peter Dennen, Director of Photography - Portland, Maine

Photography has been in Peter's blood for years. Since receiving a BA in Photography he has never stopped engaging in the professional photographic community. It's been a passion deeply rooted in Peter's family, dating back to 1913 when his great grandfather invented the original Kodachrome film. Since entering the stock photo world in 1995, Peter's goal has been to inspire, unify, empower and ultimately motivate photographers to reach their full potential. Through his role as Director of Photography, Peter appreciates and embraces the many long lasting relationships that have been nourished and built over the years. Outside the office, Peter can be found building paths through the woods with his daughters, building funky stone walls, capturing images of life, and purifying his soul in Lake Sebago, or along the coastline waters of Casco Bay.

Chris Dinon, Editorial Assignments Agent: Aurora Select - New York, New York

Upon completing a BA in International Studies from the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, Chris worked at Amazon.com for a few years before accepting a position in the photo industry with Getty Images in 2001. This turned out to be a great match, given his long interest in photography, which began during a stint as photo editor for a school newspaper. After fulfilling several roles at Getty Images, Chris began handling editorial assignments, working diligently with both clients and photographers to ensure success. Most recently, he was the Assignment Photo Editor at World Picture Network. When not at work, Chris can be found making several attempts (of mixed success) to grow vegetables in his tiny backyard and being a bit of a music geek.

Andy Hill, Vice President of Sales - New York, New York

Andy has successfully managed stock photo sales at agencies both large and small, through the challenges of a changing marketplace by always keeping a single objective in mind: Exceed the customer's expectations. At Aurora Photos that means delivering the best images that tell a story and communicate a message for your publishing and commercial projects. Andy is thrilled to represent Aurora's rapidly growing collection of diverse imagery that always aims to present customers with alternatives not found elsewhere. He considers himself lucky to work in the photo business and says, "It's always a pleasure to work with our fantastic customers who are responsible for such amazing work, thank you for using Aurora Photos!"

Jean Howard, Account Executive, Editorial Sales - Boston, Massachusetts

Jean has been with Aurora since the summer of 2003. A Museum School (Boston) graduate, she taught non-silver photo processes at the Boston Architectural Center, and now teaches the venerable art of black and white photography at Wheelock College. Earlier in the decade, she entered the stock photography world at Stock, Boston where she became the Manager of Research and Editing before eventually joining the team at Aurora Photos. She shares her home in Dedham, Massachusetts with husband Chris and dog Bo. She is an avid scuba diver fan and dreams in blue and dark green.

Andrew Mead, Marketing Associate & Novus Project Manager - Portland, Maine

A Bangor, Maine native, Andy received his BA from Tufts University in Economics and Multimedia Arts. After graduation, Andy ventured into the startup world with several classmates, co-founding NuPulse Media - a social technologies and digital media marketing firm. At NuPulse, Andy was responsible for the development and oversight of client strategy as well as User Experience/User Interface design for a location-based social iPhone app. Outside of his professional life, Andy claims to be something of a music fanatic (both playing and listening), and has shared the stage with musical acts like OK GO, Drake, and Carbon Leaf. Andy lives on Munjoy Hill and is on a never-ending quest for the best guacamole spot in Portland.

Corey Rich, Vice-President - Lake Tahoe, California

Corey Rich was the driving force behind the founding of Aurora's Outdoor Collection, which has quickly become the world's leading brand of outdoor adventure and lifestyle photography. Rich is focused on overseeing Aurora's continued sales growth and business development. A photographer himself, Rich is one of the most recognized adventure and lifestyle photographers in the outdoor space. He has photographed worldwide for many top clients, including The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Outside, and National Geographic Adventure, and for corporate/commercial clients such as Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Patagonia, and The North Face. He is on the Board of Directors for The Access Fund, co-founder of the National Geographic Adventure Photography Workshop Series and recently published My Favorite Place: Great Athletes In The Great Outdoors.

Greta Rybus, Photo Editing Intern - Portland, Maine

Greta Rybus started photographing with a borrowed camera while living abroad in rural Japan as a teenager and hasnŐt stopped since. After earning degrees in Photojournalism and Cultural Anthropology, she worked as an international freelance photojournalist and designer. Originally from Idaho and Montana, she loves skiing on fresh snow, trying new recipes, reading a juicy book and traveling to peculiar destinations. But above all, she loves photographing people.

Karl Schatz, Director - Portland, Maine

Karl, Aurora's Director, has worn many hats, both technical and creative, since re-joining the company as its Production Manager in 2004. Karl spent his first year at Aurora as Digital Archive Manager in 1999. In between, Karl was the Online Picture Editor for Time Magazine and then spent a year traveling with his wife, Margaret, documenting the goat industry and culture in the USA, leading to a book, The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese, written by Margaret. Karl received his BA in Soviet and Eastern European studies from Tufts University and an MA in Communications from Syracuse University. Karl is passionate about Photography, Food and Farming. Karl, Margaret, and their two girls, Charlotte and Beatrice live on a small Maine farm where they raise chickens, ducks, goats, and vegetables, make cheese, and live as sustainably as possible.

Eric Schnare, Editorial Assistant - Portland, Maine

Eric's obsession with photography began after unearthing his father's dusty SLR camera. It became a hobby upon graduation, as he had the opportunity to tour the country by playing guitar in several bands. He played one of the last shows at the infamous CBGB's club in New York City, and shared stages with such acts as My Chemical Romance and Sonic Youth. His official transition from music to photography came when he was asked to shoot for several of New Jersey's local music magazines. Eric loves mountain biking, Babylon 5, and having his cat chew on his beard while trying to sleep in the morning.

Anh Stack, Assignments Director: Aurora Select / Aurora Novus - New York, New York

Anh spent the past 30 years in the industry in sales, visual editing and research related roles at Black Star, Inc. Her passion for photojournalism has helped her working closely with award winning photographers worldwide. From 1997-2006 she was the sole Black Star representative at the Visa pour l'Image yearly photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France. She left her position as Editorial Director at Black Star to join Aurora. Anh enjoys the simple things in life; relaxing at home and watching sports with her dog Jake (a black Labrador) and repeatedly reminding her neighbor to keep the noise down.

NaNook, Office Dog - Portland, Maine

NaNook is an American Brittany Spaniel, born in Richmond, Maine as the runt of his litter and the only one with an all black nose. As a result of one of his owner's love of the great Alaskan wilderness and his other owner's love of cinematic history, NaNook was named for the Eskimo Patriarch featured in the famed 1920's Robert Flaherty documentary, "NaNook of the North". True to his namesake - NaNook enjoys playing with ice cubes, chewing on snow boots, and carefully arranging the towels in his crate to resemble an igloo like fortress. He divides his time in the office between sleeping under owner Shawn's desk, and doing his very best to distract the hard working staff of Aurora Photos by squeaking for attention. (yes squeaking). Still a young pup, he's not quite graduated to roaming the office on his own, but he looks forward to the day when he can try to live up to the legend of the greatest office dog ever, former honorary Auroran - Bergen. NaNook currently lives in Freeport with owners:Aurora Production Manager Shawn and her boyfriend, Jesse.