Director of POY Latam
Pablo Corral Vega is an Ecuadorian photojournalist, writer, artist, and cultural manager. His work has been published in National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and other international outlets. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. From 2015 to 2019, he served as Secretary of Culture of Quito, where he oversaw museums, festivals, cultural centers, and heritage initiatives. He is the founder and director of POY Latam, the leading documentary photography contest in Ibero-America. In addition to his photographic work, he explores the philosophical implications of artificial intelligence in our understanding of language, intelligence, and consciousness. He is currently writing a book of conversations with the machine, weaving together his visual experience with an inquiry into what it means to be human. For Corral, photography is a way of being present in the world—a practice of attention that allows us to inhabit the moment with reverence and full awareness of our intimate connection to the cosmos.
Advisory Board
Ângela Ferreira (also known as Berlinde, Porto, 1975) is a visual artist, curator, and photography researcher. She holds a postdoctoral degree in Arts and Interdisciplinary Poetics from the Graduate Program in Visual Arts at the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is the co-founder of the Portuguese festival Encontros da Imagem and has worked as an independent curator for international events such as the Beijing Biennale, the Korea International Photo Festival, and Goa Photo, among others. She has been part of the curatorial team of the Solar Photo Festival since its inception and is the founder of Nervo – Observatório dos Fotolivros, a platform dedicated to critical reflection on Portuguese photobooks.
Gael Almeida is the Executive Director for Latin America at the National Geographic Society, where she oversees the organization’s initiatives across the region. Her role involves supporting Latin American Explorers—researchers, conservationists, educators, and storytellers—who receive funding to carry out their projects, as well as fostering collaborations that generate long-term, positive impact. She brings over 25 years of experience coordinating conservation initiatives with interdisciplinary teams, managing project funding, communicating science, designing collective impact strategies, and building collaborative networks.
Gisela Volá lives in Argentina and works at the intersection of visual creation, education, and collective practice. She co-founded Cooperativa Sub in 2004 and La Plataforma in 2014—spaces devoted to collective identity and visual storytelling. Since 2021, she has served as pedagogical director of “ECO, Ibero-American Collectives Gathering” at VistProjects. As an educator, she has mentored and taught in institutions across Latin America and Europe. Her work has been exhibited in over ten countries. She has served as a juror for POY Latam (2022), World Press Photo (2023), and is a nominator for international awards such as the W. Eugene Smith Grant (2025). She is part of the POY Latam Advisory Board. Instagram: @giselavola
Maíra C. Gamarra is a Brazilian-Bolivian curator, editor, educator, and researcher. For over 17 years, she has worked across Latin America developing cultural projects focused on artistic and documentary photography, with a strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and critical representation. She is the founder and director of Mira Latina, an organization dedicated to Latin American photography and art from a decolonial perspective, exploring visual narratives, power structures, and cultural dynamics in the Global South. Maíra has served as a juror, mentor, and speaker for prominent institutions and international awards such as World Press Photo, CatchLight, the Gabo Foundation, and POY Latam, where she is also a member of the Advisory Board. She holds a degree in Social Communication with a specialization in Photography and a master’s in Latin American Studies.
Yinna Higuera (Colombia–Ecuador) is a photographer, cultural manager, and educator specializing in documentary photography, visual memory, and photographic archives in Latin America. Her work explores identity, migration, and collective memory, combining documentary practice with archival research and experimental interventions. She holds a Master’s in Photography and Society from the University of the Arts in Guayaquil and a Master’s in Education from the University of Jaén, Spain. She has led cultural and educational initiatives that support the professionalization of photography, and served as president of the Ecuadorian Photographers Association, where she promoted the National Photography Census. Yinna has curated and judged numerous international exhibitions and competitions, and her work has been shown in over 40 exhibitions. She has been an active contributor to POY Latam for six years and is a member of its Advisory Board.
Based in Redwood City, California, Manuel Ortiz is a Mexican sociologist, journalist, photographer, educator, and media strategist focused on human rights and international migration. With over 20 years of experience, he has worked with media outlets, universities, and civil society organizations in multiple countries. He is the co-founder of Península 360 Press, a media outlet based in Northern California that received the 2024 Journalism Innovation Award from Ethnic Media Services and Black Media. He also co-founded Social Focus, a nonprofit organization that empowers migrant communities through communication. Ortiz has received numerous awards for his journalism and was honored with the 2021 Prosser Award from the International Visual Sociology Association.
Tiago Santana is a Brazilian photographer, editor, and cultural producer. Since 1989, he has developed visual projects throughout Brazil and Latin America. His work has earned numerous awards, including the Vitae Arts Grant (1994), the Marc Ferrez Photography Prize (1995), the Conrado Wessel Award (2007), and the Porto Seguro Photography Award (2010). He is the author of Benditos (2000), O Chão de Graciliano (2006), Sertão (Photo Poche, 2011), and Céu de Luiz (2014). He serves on the editorial board of Sueño de la Razón (Chile), is a member of the POY Latam Advisory Board, and collaborates with the World Press Photo Foundation. Santana is the artistic director of the Solar Photo Festival, founder of Tempo d’Imagem Publishing, and president of the Mirante Institute.