Cheriss May is a visual journalist and adjunct professor at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington D.C. She was selected by Adobe in May 2019 as an Adobe education leader. Cheriss is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the media industry. She has been published in O Magazine, Time, The White House Historical Association, The New York Times, and ESPN. Cheriss is the president of Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW). Her work is featured in the MFON exhibit at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

Originally from Kansas City, Mo., Cheriss currently resides in the Washington, D.C. area.