HAILEY SADLER
Photographer | Researcher | National Geographic Explorer
Biography
Hailey Sadler is a National Geographic Explorer, research fellow, and award-winning photojournalist based out of Washington, DC who has worked across the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the U.S. Her work explores themes of trauma, memory, and identity through the psychological and emotional experiences of conflict and forced displacement. Hailey specializes in long-form, research-based projects but is also available for news assignments and commissions.
Hailey's work has been supported by grants from the National Geographic Society, Getty Images, Adobe, the IWMF, and Solutions Journalism Network, and published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, PBS Newshour, BuzzFeed News, and more. Her work has been shown internationally at individual and collective exhibitions in Washington, D.C., Tbilisi, Barcelona, Baghdad, Berlin, Amsterdam, and New York City, including at the UN Headquarters.
Hailey is also a Co-Founder of The Home Collective, a global collaborative of academics, scientists, community leaders, and new generation storytellers creating multidisciplinary research and visual projects exploring the intersection of home with geopolitical issues from conflict to climate. She also serves as a Global Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
Hailey's reporting and research is rooted in years of prior policy experience as senior staff for legislators serving on the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. She holds a Masters of International Public Policy concentrating on international conflict from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies where her capstone research project focused on the long-term impacts of intergenerational trauma after protracted war.
She is certified in Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT+) and is available for assignments worldwide.
Affiliations
Frontline Freelance Register; Women's Foreign Policy Group; Women in Security, Global Counter-Terrorism Institute; National Press Photographers Association; Women Photojournalists of Washington
Grants & Awards
2024 Berkeley Film Foundation Grant
2024 Jackson Wild Impact Stories Award Nominee
2024 RiverRun Film Festival Innovation in Storytelling Award
2023 Pictures of the Year International, War in Ukraine: Picture Story, Finalist
2022 National Geographic Explorer Grant
2022 International Women’s Media Foundation Reporting Grant
2022 White House News Photographers Association, Award of Excellence
2022 Lucie Foundation Scholarship, Honorable Mention, Category Photo Taken.
2021 Getty Images Editorial Grant
2021 National Geographic COVID-19 Emergency Fund
2021 Solutions Journalism Grant
2020 National Geographic COVID-19 Emergency Fund
2020 Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund
Opportunities & Education
2023 Anderson Ranch Arts Center: Advanced Mentorship by Ed Kashi & James Estrin
2023 Kolga Photo Festival, Tblisi Georgia, Solo Exhibition
2023 Eyes on Main Street Exhibition
2022 Foundry Photojournalism Workshop
2022 New York Times Portfolio Review
2021 Eddie Adam's Workshop XXXIV
2021 Missouri Photo Workshop, Nikon Scholarship
2020 Women Photojournalists of Washington Mentee
2019 VII Masterclass, Barcelona
2019 Featured Speaker, Georgetown University and Rotary International's Peace and Conflict Resolution Conference, Washington DC
Languages
English; Arabic