Before a water system was built by Seattle Nonprofit Water 1st, Mari walked four hours each day to collect water for her family from this small river. (Photo by Marla Smith-Nilson)

Alex is a cofounder and editor of The Seattle Globalist. He's a visual journalist whose work has been published by PBS, The Seattle Times, FRONTLINE/World and the Seattle Weekly.  Alex teaches journalism in the University of Washington's Department of Communication and recently directed the documentary film Barzan.