Umbrellas, used by student protesters in Hong Kong to shield themselves from police pepper spray, have become symbols of the nacent pro-democracy movement. (Photo by Gennie Gebhart)

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.