Yanina Manolova is a second year graduate student in photojournalism at Ohio University's School of Visual Communication and was the 2009 intern photographer at The Associated Press, based in the New York City bureau.

Yanina is native from Bulgaria. Being raised in a family of art performers influenced her future life plans and her choice of career. Meeting and interacting with people from different backgrounds and vastly divergent cultures has been a passion of her ever since she finished high school and was admitted to the program for Education and Speech Pathology at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Bulgaria.

In 2000 she moved to the United States, thereby providing her a venue to further advance her communication and visual skills. Initially, she signed up for the Photography degree program at Northern Virginia Community College. In 2007 she attended the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) News Video Workshop and the Mountain Workshop in Photojournalism. In 2008, she was accepted into the Eddie Adams Workshop, Barnstorm XXI.

She has worked on different projects in Africa, Latin America, Europe and USA. Her real dedication is working on worldwide humanitarian and health care associated projects.

Her work has been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Boston Globe, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), National Geographic (Bulgaria) and many others.

Her photos appeared at numerous exhibits and she has won several international awards and various nominations including in the Alexia Foundation for World Peace Grant 2009 student winner, the Northern Short Course in Photojournalism, Southern Short Course in News Photography, NPPA 2008 Women In Photojournalism and many others.

Yanina recently produced a short documentary film detailing her experiences while living among several Appalachian women during a period of their recovery from substance abuse and domestic violence.

Click here for Yanina Manolova's resume.