Serving as United Photo Industries' Creative Director,
Sam Barzilay
was also the director - and a founding staff member - of the New York Photo Festival.
In his dual capacity as independent curator and festival organizer, he has had the pleasure and privilege of curating photo exhibitions and lecturing on current trends in contemporary photography as far afield as China, Greece, USA, and Japan.
He is currently residing in New York City, awaiting marching orders from the voices in his head.
Dave Shelley
is the Creative Producer for United Photo Industries.
In addition to running interference as Production Manager of the New York Photo Festival for the past 4 years, Dave has worked in all areas of the arts & entertainment industry; from Stadium shows with The Rolling Stones, to Matthew Barney's latest film, the SuperBowl, Tribeca Film Festival, and as tour manager of Professor Stephen Hawking.
A Cool, Calm Bald Brother from Detroit, Dave is here for you!
Originally hailing from Sydney, Australia - where she graduated from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts -
Laura Roumanos
worked as a Producer and Arts Administrator before making the big move to NYC, to join the Manhattan Theatre Club. She then headed over to St. Ann's Warehouse where she was the General Manager for several years, producing and presenting large scale (and not so large) international theatre, music and art events.
Most recently Laura has worked as the Senior Producer of Creative Time and also as a Producer at the World Science Festival.
Laura is currently working with the boys at UPI as their executive producer while consulting, managing, and producing numerous theatrical shows and events throughout New York City, including producing Karen O's new Psycho Opera for The Creators Project this coming Fall at St. Ann's Warehouse.
Eli Sands
is the Urban Designer for United Photo Industries.
He has lived in New York City for the past six years working in luxury events and theater as an electrician, carpenter, rigger, and production manager. Some of his highlight shows include
Marc Jacobs 2008
spring fashion show,
Tom Ford 2010
spring fashion show, and Sting if on a winters night at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Eli has worked in movies and television as a gaffer and audio engineer for shows like Worst Cooks, Louie (season 1), and Real Housewives of New Jersey.
He also dabbles in playwriting, lighting design, photography and video game analysis.
Viktor Koen
is United Photo Industries's very own Design Consultant.
Viktor holds a BFA from the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem, Israel and an MFA with honors from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He serves on the faculty of the MFA Illustration and BFA Graphic Design departments at SVA.
He is a regular contributor to The New York Times and his client list includes Penguin Books, Random House, Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Rizzoli, Houghton Mifflin, Time, Newsweek, Esquire, The Economist, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Wired, Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, Fortune, Money, Forbes, Nation, The Village Voice, Mother Jones, BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LATimes, Atlantic Records, Roadrunner Records, Virgin and the BBC.
His award winning prints are exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and get regularly featured in books and publications worldwide.