EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Colleen (she/her) joined the staff as the Executive Director in January of 2019. She received her MFA at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a BA in Photography at Drexel University. In addition to her role at Latitude, she is an educator and photographer whose work has been shown in Chicago galleries like CoProsperity Sphere, Roman Susan, and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Chicago. She has been an artist in residence at Hatch Projects within the Chicago Artist Coalition and she is a proud member of the Midwest Photographers Project. In 2023, Colleen became an Adobe Photoshop Certified Professional.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Dæja (she/her) worked as a Lab Assistant in 2017 and joined the staff as Deputy Director in January 2024. She attended Cranbrook Academy of Art as an MFA candidate in 2022 and received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015. Dæja is an artist concentrating on photography, memory, and materiality. She is also the Creator and Director of Flat Earth Film Festival and a part of the HEIMA art collective in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.

LAB DIRECTOR

Keanna Rose (they/them) joined the staff as Lab Director January 2021 after working as a lab assistant since 2019. Keanna studied at the University of Illinois at Chicago where they received their BFA concentrated in analog photography and videography.

LAB TECHNICIAN

Diego (he/him) began working at Latitude as a Lab Assistant in September of 2018 and joined the staff as Lab Technician in July of 2021. He was promoted to Lab Manager in 2024. His practice revolves around what it means to be alive, sensible, and experiencing a moment. Diego’s written and shown work for various online and print publications as well as Roman Susan, Happy Gallery, and Filter Photo.

COMMUNICATIONS & DESIGN COORDINATOR

Marylu (she/her) joined the staff as Communications and Design Coordinator in June 2021. Originally from Chicago, she received her MFA in Printmedia from SAIC, and her BFA from SMFA @ Tufts, Boston, MA. As an artist, she creates colorful works exploring her cultural identity and relationships through collaged materials, prints, and installations. In 2023, Marylu became an Adobe Photoshop Certified Professional.

Ash (They/Them) joined Latitude as a lab assistant from 2018-2019 and joined as Interim Deputy Director in 2024. As a queer lens-based artist Ash's body of work surrounds LGBTQ+ identity through portraiture. Their work also explores themes of queerness, transformation and mental illness through abstract and experimental photographic methods using music software, text/hex editing and rephotographing images on screens. They obtained their Bachelor's Degree in Photography at Columbia College Chicago and their MFA in Fine Art Photography at Columbia College Chicago.

Matilda (she/her) is an artist and designer from the Pacific Northwest. She began working at Latitude as a Tech Fellow in October of 2023 and joined the staff as a Lab Technician in January of 2024. She received her BFA from Oregon State University in 2019.

Grace Kromah (she/her) is our Education Coordinator and joined our staff in April 2024. Her work delves into themes such as family, memory, immigration, diaspora, Liberian culture, and history. Using a mix of digital and film photography, Grace incorporates archival imagery from personal archives, portraits, landscapes, and self-portraits; exploring the intersection of personal and collective histories that have yet to be told. She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2020 with a focus on photography.