Mick is currently the CEO of Mick Cochran Global Enterprises, LLC. Previously he was Director of Photography at USA TODAY, Art Director at The Providence Journal, Assistant Managing Editor at The Charlotte Observer and Photography and Graphics director at The State Journal-Register. His specialties include photojournalism, publication design, copy editing, photo editing, publishing, media law, contracts, staff management.
"Two sentences, okay, this is one. I’ve been part of the photojournalism scene for 53 years."

Max is the Senior Visuals Editor at IndyStar, and regularly works with USA Today. Aside from daily news and longterm project work, he has coordinated coverage and edited major sporting events including The Indianapolis 500, The Masters, Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the entire 2021 NCAA March Madness and the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Former managing editor, columnist, reporter, editor at Lexington Herald-Leader, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Associated Press. Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame member, widely published photographer and member of Mountain Workshops faculty since 1995.

Kurt is an Endpoint Engineer for Western Kentucky University’s Information Technology Services. A 1998 graduate of the WKU Photojournalism program, Kurt worked at multiple newspapers before joining the WKU PJ department as a staff member in 2003. Kurt has been involved with the Workshops for over 20 years. He lives in Bowling Green with his wife Jana, son Nate (who is a sophomore at WKU) and daughter Kara (who will be a freshman at WKU next year).

Justin is currently a visual communications specialist at Springfield Clinic in Springfield, Illinois. He was previously a staff photographer at the State Journal-Register from 2006 to 2021, covering life in and around the capitol city. Fowler, a native Kentuckian, found his love photojournalism on accident at Western Kentucky University in 2000 and took his first staff photographer position in Janurary of 2006 at the SJR. While studying photojournalism and political science at WKU, Fowler had internships at The Lexington Herald-Leader, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Naples Daily News and The State Journal-Register.

Nic is a documentary filmmaker and photographer in Atlanta, GA. With experience in commercial film production, he has developed a love for non-fiction storytelling and the documentary process. He is forever seeking to document fascinating characters, relationships, places, and the narratives they weave.

Teresa is an Air Force veteran who has more than 21-years experience in military journalism and visual information. Her experiences in the military include editing and design of several military newspapers and writing and editing news and feature articles on a vast array of military-related subjects as well as research and design of World War II educational products and memorabilia. She has designed and edited several military history books, pamphlets, brochures and posters. She is the office coordinator for the School of Media & Communication at WKU.

Brian, a long-time visual and digital innovator, award-winning photographer and true friend of the Mountain Workshops is a former Photojournalist-in-Residence at Western Kentucky University, Director of Photography & Editorial Systems at The Flint (Mich.) Journal newspaper, from 1999-2006. Prior to The Journal, Brian worked at the Muskegon Chronicle and was recognized as Michigan Photographer of the Year. He served in various roles on the Michigan Press Photographers Association board for more than two decades.

Amy is the Digital Communications Manager for the Baker School at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She spent two decades as a photojournalist between the Troy Daily News in Ohio, South Bend Tribune in Indiana, and the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee, and even did some time as the storyteller for Zoo Knoxville. Originally from Nashville, she is a 1998 graduate of Western Kentucky University’s photojournalism program. The job may change, but the heart remains the same, finding new and interesting ways to tell stories.

Steve Smart, a 1992 graduate of WKU, is a corporate media producer, photographer and editor. He is a senior manager at Deloitte, a global consulting firm producing a wide variety of internal media and marketing communications.

Adam is a filmmaker based in New York, NY specializing in short-form documentaries. He produces, shoots and edits. Small crews and solo shoots are his specialty. Adam's clients include The New York Times, CNN, The New Yorker, TED, ABC, NPR, Bloomberg, OceanX, TIME, and The Weather Channel.

Jonathan has bounced around in the visual storytelling world ever since graduating from Western Kentucky University’s PJ program in 1993. His favorite newspaper job was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming before being lured away by the money of crazy big weddings. For the past seven years he has taught at WKU and has helped run all aspects of the workshops. Now his main job at Mountain is to make sure everything comes together without anyone noticing.

Jeanie has been teaching at WKU for close to 22 years and is fueled by inspiring her students to see the best in themselves. She was the recipient of the National Press Photographers Association’s Robin F. Garland Educator Award in 2021, which recognizes outstanding educators who shape a new generation of visual communicators and photojournalists through their lessons.

Tim, a 1988 graduate of WKUPJ, has been a professor of photojournalism since 2001 at WKU. He has been involved with the Mountain every year since 1985 and now directs the production side of the workshops making sure your experience is one of a kind.

James is the program coordinator for the WKU Visual Journalism and Photography program and director of the Mountain Workshops. Though his work is very important to him, it pales in comparison to the greatest blessings in his life – his wife, six kids and two grandchildren.