Diana Markosian is a world-reknown documentary photographer based in Yangon, Myanmar.
Her reporting has previously taken her from Russia's volatile North Caucasus, to the ancient Silk Road in Tajikistan and overland to the remote Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan.
Diana's images have appeared in The New York Times, Le Monde, The Sunday Times, Marie Claire, Foreign Policy, Time.com, World Policy Journal, Human Rights Watch, and many other publications.
How Does Diane Change the World?
Diane's work has captured the hearts, souls, and tears of many. Her powerful images capture places like Tajikistan in a way unknown to the world prior to her work. The images make foreign places closer to home and are charged with the emotion of each moment.
September Speaker: Diane Markosian
Bede is the deputy director for children's rights at the international organization Human Rights Watch, and a member of Atlas' Board! He investigates war crimes and human rights violations around the world, and particularly looks at how students, teachers, and schools are affected during wartime. He also does advocacy with government officials to try and improve their policies. He was born and raised in New Zealand.
How Does Bede Change the World?
At HRW Bede specializes in the issues of attacks on students, teachers, and schools, and the military use of schools. During his time with Human Rights Watch, he has conducted research and advocacy on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Japan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Yemen. He previously worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Croatia.
Bede spoke to our members intensively about the children in different countries who are also facing immense hardships. We came away from his conversation with a much deeper understanding of the inequities and horrors taking place accross the world.
August's Speaker: Bede Sheppard
Speaker Nights:
Inspiration to be awesome
"When the needs of the world and your talents intersect, therein lies your vocation"
While attending the Forbes Women’s Summit in 2013, Atlas’ ED, Lauren Burke encountered inspiring individuals from around the world. Over the two days Lauren met with groundbreakers in every possibly industry. She wanted to take these incredible individuals and share their experiences, with the incredible Atlas youth of today who will change tomorrow’s future.
This experience sparked the creation of Speaker Nights; events at Atlas DIY’s headquaters in which our youth get to have intimate conversations between with today's leaders and learn to take build their own realities.
How Does Veronika Change the World?
Veronika started the Empowerment Plan as a 20 year old product design student at The College for Creative Studies in Detroit. It started as a class project and became a non-profit organization when she graduated in December 2011. During the creation of the project, she was told over and over again that this organization would never succeed. Not because the person running it had no business experience but that the homeless women she hired would be almost worthless, that she would be lucky to have anyone show up, let alone make a coat. Two years, ten jobs and multiple awards later, it's pretty clear she proved them wrong. See more on Veronika in the NYTIMES, on CNN, and in Forbes Magazine!
On Wednesday July 3rd, 2013, at 5 30 pm come have an intimate discussion with The Empowerment Plan's founder, Veronika Scott! The Empowerment Plan is a Detroit-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the homeless community. Believing in giving second chances to those who want it, and providing warmth to those who need it, Veronika began designing coats while still in college and now employs over ten formerly homeless women full time to construct her incredible products.
