Sharon Farmer

Born and raised in Washington, DC, Sharon Farmer was the first African American woman to be hired as a White House photographer and the first African American and first woman to become Director of the White House Photography office. She served in this role from 1999-2001, and as White House photographer from 1993, documenting the beginning of the Clinton-Gore Administration. She was formerly an assignment editor for the Associated Press and the campaign photographer for Sen. John Kerry’s presidential election campaign in 2004. Over the years she has photographed for The Washington Post, the Smithsonian Institution, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Urban League, the Brookings Institution, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. to name a few. Farmer has taught and lectured extensively on photography and photojournalism. Her photographic work resides in numerous public and private collections. Farmer holds a BA from The Ohio State University.