A decorated combat photojournalist, Stacy L. Pearsall has dedicated her life to documenting service and has been an instrumental advocate for The Citadel’s photography program from its beginning. Pearsall has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Humanities and is a charter member of the Friends of Fine Arts at The Citadel. She developed this award to recognize and encourage the work of merit she saw in the cadet photography courses and continues to serve as a mentor for the Fine Arts program.
Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During her time in service, she traveled to over 41 countries, and attended the Military Photojournalism Program at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University from which she is a 50 Forward distinguished graduate. During three combat tours, she earned the Bronze Star Medal and Air Force Commendation with Valor for combat actions in Iraq. Though combat disabled and retired from military service, Pearsall has not let her disabilities hold her back. With her service animal America’s VetDogs Charlie by her side, she continues to work worldwide as an independent photographer and is an author, educator, military consultant, BRAVO748 public speaker and founder of the Veterans Portrait Project.
Now in its second season, Pearsall has hosted and produced After Action, a PBS television series that reveals the experiences of 21 diverse veterans from across the country through candid conversations about what life is like before, during, and after action. Pearsall’s own struggles to reconnect with society challenges her fellow veterans to probe deeper into their stories, helping to provide a better appreciation for those who’ve served.
Pearsall is a Nikon, Manfrotto and Spider Holster Ambassador as well as an Ilford Master. Her work has been exhibited at The Woodruff Arts Center, The Pentagon, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum among numerous other galleries and venues. She is one of only three women to win National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Military Photographer of the Year competition, and the first woman to earn it twice. She’s authored two books – Shooter: Combat from Behind the Camera and A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the Trenches with Stacy Pearsall – both of which have earned international acclaim.
She’s been presented with the Jefferson Award and Hill Vets 100 Artist of the Year, honored with the Daughters of the American Revolution Margaret Cochran Corbin Award and the Girl Scout’s Woman of Distinction Award, lauded by President Barack Obama as a White House as a Champion of Change, and she holds an honorary doctoral degree in journalism from The Citadel. Pearsall has served as a nominating juror for the Pulitzer Prize and held a presidential-appointed board member position for the NPPA.