17³Ô¹Ï

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board consists of industry leaders who provide the department with knowledge and expertise so that we continue to offer the appropriate marketable skills for students to successfully enter the workforce.

Jason Agron

Jason Agron graduated 17³Ô¹Ï 2013 with a photography degree in 2013 and went straight into assisting photographer Brooke Duthie for 5 years after graduating. While working with Brooke and learning about the world of photography, he was also learning from his wife and learning the production side of photography as well. On top of working as a photo assistant and production assistant, he was also photographing music, events, portraits, and real estate as well. After years of exploring all options, he decided to focus full time in production and now is Sr. Producer for Photobomb Production in Los Angeles.

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Dean Birinyi

Dean Birinyi began his career photographing babies in K-mart Department stores. For 35 years he specialized in interior design photography and won more than 200 awards for his work. Dean now focuses his creative efforts and expertise on photographing high-end headshots for Silicon Valley executives under the names Professional Headshots Palo Alto and Silicon Valley Headshots.

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Lisa DeNeffe

Lisa DeNeffe has been a professional photographer for over 16 years. She has been transforming the way families enjoy and live with their photography by creating finished products that will be treasured for a lifetime. As a premier Bay Area photographer for families, newborns, high school seniors, and couples, Lisa also provides business headshots, commercial and fashion photography at her studio in downtown Los Altos. Photos have been published in local publications including Gentry Magazine and Luxury Magazine as well as national publications including Wall Street Journal and Forbes Magazine. Beyond the Bay Area, her wall portraits can be found in homes in Europe, Egypt, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Raised in California, Lisa attended 17³Ô¹Ï and went on to graduate from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in communications.

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Curtis Finger

Since he was 8 years old Curtis Finger has been interested in photography. By the time he was in high school, the darkroom was already starting to feel like home. In the years since, he has spent time assisting almost a dozen different photographers on subjects ranging from architecture to corporate portraiture, and automobiles to fine art projects. For the last decade he has been building his commercial architectural photography business. These architectural projects typically involve a truckload of lighting and a photo crew to capture the perfect image.  Having such varied experience with photography has helped his love for the art grow to new levels. Using these skills he has found that everyday he picks up a camera is a new chance to grow and learn; both about photography and about the subjects that he photographs.

Russell Foote

Russell Foote is an award-winning photographer, entrepreneur, and instructor. Russell first picked up a camera out of curiosity many years ago and has created the business of his dreams for the past four decades. He creates breathtaking images of weddings, portraits, commercial advertising, industrial and special events. His mission is to use the lens of his camera to capture those moments that create memories to last you a lifetime. Russell is a board member of the Hayward Arts Council and a member of PPA – Professional Photographers of America. Some of his published work can be found in publications including JET Magazine, Modern Bride, Northern California Bride, and U.S. News & World Report. His studio is based in Hayward California. His primary location range covers California and the surrounding states.

Erika Gentry

Erika Gentry is an internationally exhibited, interdisciplinary artist working within photography, video and installation. Her projects explore issues of identity as expressed through the use of technology and place. A self-proclaimed Francophile, she exhibits and travels internationally and in 2014 was an artist in residence in France funded in part by the Tenot Foundation and Center for Cultural Innovation. She also designs photography workshops for intermediate photographers in France and San Francisco.

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Ann M. Jastrab

Ann M. Jastrab is the Executive Director at the Center for Photographic Art (CPA) in Carmel, California. Prior to joining CPA, Ann was the gallery manager at Scott Nichols Gallery in San Francisco, where she incorporated contemporary artists with the masters of photography. Ann also worked as the gallery director at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco for 10 years until their closure in 2017. Ann has curated many shows in the Bay Area while simultaneously jurying, curating, and organizing numerous exhibitions for other national and international venues outside of San Francisco. While being a champion of artists, she created a thriving artist-in-residence program at RayKo where multiple residents received Guggenheim Fellowships. In addition to being a curator, Ann Jastrab, MFA, is a fine art photographer, master darkroom printer, and educator.

David T. Lees

David T. Lees is a San Francisco based photographer. He specializes in portrait, headshot and editorial photography. David works with a variety of clients including print publications, individuals, artists, start-ups, large corporations and nonprofits. Born and raised in England, his love of the arts became apparent at a young age. This early interest led David to study photography at 17³Ô¹Ï and ultimately solidified his decision to pursue a career in photography."  

Lesley Louden

Lesley Louden is a photographer, co-chair and professor in art photography at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, CA. She has been teaching photography to wonderful students at the college level for the past fifteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her photographic work has been featured in exhibitions at the San Jose Museum of Art, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, the World Affairs Council in SF, and the George Soros Foundation Moving Walls Documentary Photography Exhibition in NYC and Washington DC. Lesley studied photography at Ohio Wesleyan University (BFA), the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia (MA), and Cranbrook Academy of Art (MFA).

Lisa Stone

Lisa Stone graduated from 17³Ô¹Ï in 2002 with a degree in Photography and Digital Imaging. After working in the photography industry for several years and receiving a Business Degree from San Jose State University, she went on to complete her Master’s Degree in Photography in 2019 at the Academy of Art University. Lisa is currently the owner of Lisa Stone Photography, a documentary wedding and portrait studio. She specializes in photojournalism and creative portraits, and creates fine art prints in her spare time.