Meet the Team
Laura Roumanos
Executive Producer & Co-Founder
After graduating from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Laura left the Land of Koalas for the Big Apple, where she has worked with creatives behind the World Science Festival, VICE, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Spike Jonze, and Karen O, and partnered with 100+ entities, including Nat Geo and Instagram.
Sam Barzilay
Creative Director, Co-Founder
Currently serving as Creative Director of United Photo Industries, Sam Barzilay is also the co-founder of Photoville, a photographic gathering that has rapidly become among the largest and best-attended photography events in North America.
Dave Shelley
Creative Producer, Co-Founder
Hailing from Detroit, Dave is UPI’s Creative Producer and our resident Get-Things-Done. He works in all of Arts & Entertainment, including multiple stadium shows with the Rolling Stones, Super Bowl events, and the Tribeca Film Festival. He is also a long-time associate of The Wooster Group Theater Company.
Jasmin Chang
Programming Manager
Jasmin is UPI’s expert coordinator for all lectures, events, and programs at Photoville, and heads the Photoville Education program every year. Additionally, she regularly works with various photographers from all over the world to produce and distribute their work.
Sara Stevens
Coordinating Producer
Sara has been working with UPI since 2015. When she’s not in a shipping container she can be found working with the World Science Festival, Imagine Exhibitions, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Arts Brookfield, Prospect Theater Company, the American Tap Dance Foundation and wherever else they will let her run around talking into a radio and looking important.
Viktor Koen
Design Director
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 currently serves on the faculty of the MFA Illustration and BFA Graphic Design departments at SVA.
Michael Palmer
Production Assistant
From Virginia, Michael is UPI's capable PA, tasked with helping bring even the most outrageous installations to life. Outside of the office, Michael is also a rising actor and musician.
Gilbert
Senior VP of Security Operations
Gilbert is UPI’s Senior VP of Security Operations, and he is extremely thorough at his job. As a maltese-pekingese-poodle mix, he loves to lay in the sun and bark at whoever’s not Sam, Dave, or Laura.
Steve Dennin
Director of Development
Steve joined UPI in July of 2018, and is thrilled to be a part of such an exciting, ambitious and successful organization. Over the course of his career in fundraising, he has worked for Yaddo, the artist’s colony, The Nature Conservancy, the Whitney Museum, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation.
Sydney Edwards
Communications Manager
Fresh out of graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Sydney had the opportunity to intern at UPI. Later on working in PR at Sony Music with a roster of artists like Travis Scott, Fifth Harmony, and more. Now, Sydney is back as UPI's Communications Manager, helping spread the word about all things UPI-related.
Krystal Grow
Senior Producer
Krystal is a Senior Producer at UPI, where she manages and coordinates workshops and other public photography programs for Photoville. She is also a Senior Photo Editor on the Global Picture Desk at Getty Images. Her writing on photography has appeared in American Photography, TIME LightBox, LIFE.com, TIME.com, WIRED, and the New York TIMES Lens blog.
Arthur Hylton
Programming Intern
Arthur is a visual artist/social activist born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he would take photos of random things & people with disposable film cameras; as a New York Film Academy graduate, Arthur now collaborates with brands & influencers to bring their creative ideas to life.
Joan Koo
Senior Graphic Designer
Joan is UPI’s in-house designer who moved to the Big Apple and discovered, much to her relief, that there was much more to it than Times Square and Broadway shows. When not camped at her desk, you can usually find her perusing obscure cafés with her friends.
Todd Hershberger
Senior Project Manager
Todd is UPI’s Project Manager, Bob the Builder, and all-around Jack of all Trades. From raising a photo village and rigging gallery storage to remodeling a home: UPI asks, “Can he build it?” Yes, yes he can.
Majda Puaca
Website Designer
Born and raised in former Yugoslavia, she spent a decade organizing for social justice and using new technologies for greater good, before switching continents in 2011. While websites are her main ‘obsession’, Majda thoroughly enjoys events-industry life and exploring hiking trails with her pup Hank.
