Tim Broekema is an associate professor of Photojournalism at Western Kentucky University located in Bowling Green, Ky.

Broekema’s career started in 1984 when he left his hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich. and by chance took a photography class at Western Kentucky. He continued to develop a passion for photojournalism by joining the Student Publications during his second semester at WKU and he continued on staff until the end of his senior year. Eventually he landed a part-time picture-editing job for the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper. He then moved on to the Providence Journal where he worked as a sports and business page picture editor and designer. Then, just as Michael Jordan was becoming a household name, Broekema was called up to the majors where he worked for the Chicago Tribune as sports picture editor for 8 years. Once Jordan retired (for a second time) Broekema decided it was time to go home and convinced his childhood hometown newspaper to hire him as a Director of Photography. He worked there as a manager for nearly four years before realizing that you never really can go home again so he went for the next best thing and became a professor of photojournalism at the same school that introduced photography to him twenty years earlier.

Broekema has had his hand in multiple awards including a team Pulitzer Prize and nine Photographer of the Year International recognitions in picture editing, shooting and new media categories. He was also a member of the Chicago Tribune design team when the Society of News Design called the newspaper the Best Designed in the world. Western Kentucky has won the coveted Hearst Photojournalism competition 19 times, the contest started 22 years ago.

Broekema has been married to his wonderful wife Susan for 15 years and has two children, Kasey, 13, and Gabi, 11. This will be Broekema’s 27th consecutive year with the Mountain Workshops.