Yam G-Jun, a photojournalist currently based in Kyrgyzstan, was a former contract photographer for the Associated Press, covering local and international news stories in Kuala Lumpur and Chicago. He holds a B.A. from Columbia College Chicago and is an alumnus of the New York Times Student Journalism Institute. His work has been published by The New York Times, The Associated Press, Smithsonian Magazine, and Chicago Tribune, to name a few. He was awarded first place in the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People Category 2019, the Studs Terkel Scholarship for his work in Pilsen, the Illinois College Press Association Spot News Photo of the Year, and has exhibited his work in various group shows in New York state, Chicago and Malaysia.