NPPA Immediate Past President Katie Tarasov (left) presents NPPA President Marie de Jesús (right) with a ceremonial gavel. From 2022 to 2024, Marie served as president. Previously she served as NPPA secretary and chair of the mentorship program. Photo: Alicia Calzada
Marie D. De Jesús announced as director of POY and CPOY, RJI’s signature photojournalism competitions
In November, Marie joins RJI and the Missouri School of Journalism as the director of POY and CPOY. She comes to Missouri from the Houston Landing where she served as the director of photography. Photo: John Tedesco | Houston Landing
COLUMBIA, MO (Oct. 17, 2024) — The Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) at the Missouri School of Journalism today announced that Marie D. De Jesús is the new director of Pictures of the Year (POY) and College Photographer of the Year (CPOY), RJI’s prestigious photojournalism competitions.
De Jesús is the immediate past president of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and the former director of photography at the Houston Landing. Previously, De Jesús worked as a staff photographer at the Houston Chronicle, the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, and the Victoria Advocate in Victoria, Texas. Bringing more than 15 years of experience in photojournalism, she will work to strengthen the roles of POY and CPOY as empowering and educational influences in the industry.
“I’m excited to see how Marie’s leadership charts the future of the POY programs and their educational mission,” said Lynden Steele, director of photojournalism and news archiving at RJI. “Not only has she worked as a staff photographer, editor and director of photography at a nonprofit startup news organization, she’s served the entire photojournalism profession at NPPA. Her experience and service speak to her deep commitment.”
Both competitions are sponsored by Nikon, which is in its 18th year as co-sponsor of CPOY. Nikon’s support has enabled CPOY to offer free entry for participants. Now, the hiring of De Jesús takes the collaboration between the two competitions a step further, uniting POY and CPOY under one director.
In 2017, Marie covered Hurricane Harvey as a Houston Chronicle staff photojournalist. From 2013 to 2022, Marie worked as a staff photographer at the Chronicle covering daily news, focusing on underrepresented communities and immigration issues. Photo: Myr Olivares
Professor Jackie Bell will remain co-director of CPOY while continuing to teach at the School of Journalism, and Steele, former director of POY, now leads RJI’s news preservation efforts, including digitizing 80 years of POY and CPOY images along with other photojournalism work at the institute.
“It’s more important than ever that impactful photos and the conversations around them are visible and accessible,” De Jesús said. “That is where POY and CPOY can really step up — they aren’t just contests. They are about strengthening the work of visual journalism that affects regular folks and gives them a way to see themselves through a different lens. Maybe they learn something about themselves and their communities from what they see.”
That emphasis on impact and community, nurtured through De Jesús’ experiences at various community news organizations throughout the country, aligns with the founding philosophy of the competitions: “Show truth with a camera,” as said by POY founder Cliff Edom. It also aligns with the educational components of the competitions: CPOY is open to college students around the world, and POY accepts entries from both amateur and professional photographers. In addition, students can gain valuable experience assisting with organizing and administering the competition, and the winner of CPOY also wins a coveted internship with Reuters Pictures.
“Marie understands and values the educational mission of CPOY, and I know she will support students worldwide and at the Missouri School of Journalism,” Bell said. “She'll be a great role model for students, particularly with her varied and extensive work background. I can't wait to work with her to continue the POY family tradition.”
Marie takes part in the virtual judging of College Photographer of the Year in 2021. She has also judged POYi. Also pictured are Jared Soares (lower, left), David Barreda (lower right), and CPOY Director Jackie Bell. Screenshot via CPOY.
Of course, the role won’t be the first exposure to POY and CPOY for De Jesús. As one of the few people to have served as a judge for both competitions, she has insights into how they can work together toward a common goal by highlighting work from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.
“Some people just want to win, and that makes sense — winning is currency in newsrooms,” De Jesús said. “But for me, these contests are exercises to improve our work and understand ourselves as journalists. It’s about identifying where we can go and where we can grow.”
One can see that philosophy reflected in POY’s expansion into Latin America more than a decade ago and the more recent establishment of POY Asia. It’s also evident in De Jesús’ upbringing in rural Puerto Rico, which she credited with orienting her toward using visual storytelling as a tool to forge connections between people and broaden the worldviews of audiences.
“Photography is not decoration on top of the story,” she said. “It’s meant to add information, to add a perspective. And that’s really what my leadership experience has been about: educating with kindness and empathy.”
About POY and CPOY
POY, the oldest and one of the largest photojournalism competitions in the world, was founded in 1944 “to provide an opportunity for photographers of the nation to meet in open competition.” A program of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, POY continues to grow, adding POY Latam in 2011 and POY Asia in 2021.
CPOY is the most prestigious college photojournalism competition in the world, annually receiving more than 10,000 entries from up to 50 countries and over 170 educational institutions worldwide. A Reuters internship is available to the top student photographer from virtually any country and allows the student to gain unparalleled on-the-job experience in the field with the Reuters Pictures team. Judging for the 79th edition of CPOY begins Saturday, Oct. 19.
