Sarah Leen is a photographer, a photo editor and a teacher. In 2013 she became the first female Director of Photography of National Geographic magazine. In 2020 she founded the Visual Thinking Collective.

In 1979, as a student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, I was awarded a National Geographic internship after being the first female student to win the College Photographer of the Year competition. That summer, the renowned National Geographic magazine Director of Photography, Robert Gilka, had either enough faith in my skills, or took pity on me, and assigned me to my first magazine story; it was published in the July 1980 issue as "Return to Uganda".

After my internship I went on to work for a series of newspapers including the Topeka (KS) Capital Journal, the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune and The Philadelphia Inquirer. That is one short sentence about a very important time in my life which gave me all the professional skills I relied on as a freelance photographer for more than 20 years.

But my dream was always to work again for National Geographic. In 1988 I left the Philadelphia Inquirer and began to freelance for a variety of publications but mostly National Geographic—which published 16 of my assignments for the magazine and five covers over the next twenty years.

In 2005 I hung up my cameras and joined the National Geographic magazine staff as a Senior Photo Editor. During that time I worked on numerous magazine features with some amazing photographers including Lynn Johnson, Erika Larsen, John Stanmeyer, Evgenia Arbugaeva, Lynsey Addario, David Guttenfelder, Abelardo Morell, Jonas Bendiksen, Joel Sartore, Jim Richardson and many others.

In 2013 I was promoted to become the first female Director of Photography for National Geographic Partners. In 2019 I left the National Geographic to shift my creative life toward working again as a photo editor and teacher working directly with photographers and publishers. Editing photography books is my passion and has been true a challenge and learning experience. Since 2019 I have had the pleasure to photo edit several books with publisher FotoEvidence and some wonderful photographer published books. See the list below.

In 2023 I had the special honor of editing Ukraine: A War Crime by FotoEvidence which compiled the work of 93 photographers documenting the first year of the war in Ukraine. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Arles Historical Book Award, received the International Photography Awards Book Photographer of the Year award, and was a nominee of the Lucie Awards for Book Publisher of the Year and Photo Editor of the Year.

Teaching and mentoring is an essential part of my personal mission. I currently teach photography and photo editing at the Missouri Photo Workshops, the Maine Media Workshops, the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, the Eddie Adams Workshop, Syracuse University and in the summer of 2024 I am having a workshop in Maine for women photographers and editors, Female Perspectives on Visual Storytelling.

I am on the Board of the International League of Conservation Photographers, on the Advisory Council for the Eddie Adams Workshop and a member of The Photo Society. I have curated exhibitions at Photoville NYC, the Annenberg Space for Photography LA, LOOK3 and the National Geographic.

I live in East Boothbay, Maine with my husband Bill Marr on six acres of forest with our cats Zuzu and the troublemaker Buzzer.

Photo Book Editing

2023: Ukraine: A War Crime, 93 photojournalists, publisher FotoEvidence.

2022: A Troubled Home by Anush Babajanyan

2022: We Cry in Silence by Smita Sharma, publisher FotoEvidence—winner of the 2023 Lucie Award for Single Artist, Single Author, Single Publisher, Independent Category.

2022: The Phoenician Collapse by Diego Ibarra Sanchez, publishers FotoEvidence and Ediciones Universidad San Jorge-winner of the 2022 Lucie Book Award for Independent Book

2021: Like a Bird by Johanna-Maria Fritz

2021: Anderswo/Elsewhere by Petra Barth, Schilt Publishing

2020: HABIBI by Antonio Facciolongo, publisher FotoEvidence—winner of World Press Photo Story of the Year and 1st prize winner in the Long-term Projects category

2019: Women: The National Geographic Image Collection, National Geographic Books

Awards: Photography, Editing, Nominations

2020: Appointed to the Board of the International League of Conservation Photographers

2018: Advisory Board for the Eddie Adams Workshop

2017, 2016: Angus MacDougall Overall Excellence in Editing, Staff

2015: 2nd Place, Magazine Editing Portfolio, Pictures of the Year International

2014: Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame, inductee

2012: 2nd Place, Magazine Editing Portfolio, Pictures of the Year International

2011: 2nd Place, Magazine Editing Portfolio, Pictures of the Year International

2009: Ritenour High School Hall of Fame, Inductee

2008 and 2007: 1st Place, Magazine Editing Portfolio, Pictures of the Year International

2003: World Press Photo, 2nd Place, Science and Technology

1986: Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, Honorable Mention

1979: College Photographer of the Year, first female to win this honor

1978: R. Fujiyama Photojournalism Scholarship

1977: Mrs. John P. Herrick Photojournalism Scholarship

Juries and Curations

2022-2018: Juror, Critical Mass, Photo Lucida

2022: Juror, Me&Eve Grant, Center, Santa Fe, NM.

2022: Co-Curator with Elizabeth Krist, Nature Nurtures, Photoville,NYC

2021: Mentor for Women Photograph

2021: Co-Curator with Visual Thinking Collective, The Four Elements, Photoville NYC.

2020: First Round Juror, Ian Parry Scholarship, England

2020 and 2018: Juror, Festival for Ethical Photography, World Report Award-Italy

2020: Juror, Getxophoto Festival-Spain

2018: Juror, Reportage Division, Pictures of the Year International, University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO

2017-present: Juror, Critical Mass, Photo Lucida

2016: Juror, Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography

2013: Curator: The Power of Photography: 125 Years of National Geographic, Annenberg Place for Photography, Los Angeles

2012: Juror, Communications Arts Photography Annual

2012: Curator, Beyond the Story exhibit, National Geographic Society

2012: Curator, Profoundly Human: Lynn Johnson exhibit, LOOK3

2011: US Embassy of Latvia and Belarus: Cultural exchange and photography workshop thru US State Department

2010: Co-Curator with Bill Marr: Water is Life exhibition, Annenberg Place for Photography, Los Angeles

2009: US Embassy of Macedonia, cultural exchange, exhibit and photography workshop thru US State Department