Photographer Karen Kasmauski talks about her winding career path, from volunteering in Appalachia as a new and self-described goal-less college graduate to photographing more than two dozen stories for National Geographic. 

Karen is the daughter of a Japanese mom and an American Navy veteran who met in Japan just after World War II. It’s this relationship that inspired her to help produce a film about Japanese war brides – including her mother. The film aired on BBC and also screened at numerous film festivals. Her book Impact: From the Frontlines of Global Health, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She teaches photography and business at many colleges and she photographs and travels for international NGOs – at least she did before the pandemic. Our conversation today touches on sexism and racism, though not in a gratuitous way.