GroundTruth Institute is dedicated to amplifying the work of women* photographers engaged with ecology, environmental issues, and place-based research. It was created out of a desire to honor the depth, rigor, and care with which women are documenting the landscapes, ecosystems, and communities shaped by environmental change.
Across diverse geographies and practices, women photographers have long been producing nuanced, sustained engagements with the environment - work that moves beyond surface documentation to ask critical questions about land, history, labor, extraction, memory, and responsibility. GroundTruth exists to make space for these practices, to slow down, to listen, and to foreground the knowledge embedded in photographic work rooted in long-term attention to place.
At the heart of The Institute is a series of in-depth interviews with photographers about their practices, influences, and relationships to the environments they photograph. These interviews are not intended as promotional snapshots, but as thoughtful exchanges that illuminate how artistic, ecological, and cultural research intersect. Together, they form a growing archive that centers women’s perspectives at a moment when environmental narratives are increasingly urgent and often unevenly represented.
Launched in early 2026, the GroundTruth Archive is conceived as both a record of this moment and a resource for the future for researchers, artists, students, and anyone seeking deeper engagement with photographic work that addresses environmental change. The archive aims to ensure that women’s contributions at the intersection of art and the environment are seen, valued, and preserved. By gathering these voices together, GroundTruth fosters connection, dialogue, and continued inquiry, while celebrating the visionary cultural producers whose practices help us better understand the world we inhabit.
*the term women is used to encompass often under-represented cisgender and transgender women as well as genderqueer and nonbinary people
Connect with us
Would you like to partner with GroundTruth to host a workshop or retreat?
Would you like to suggest an artist we should interview for the archive?
We’d love to hear from you.
Drop us an email at contact@groundtruthinstitute.org
Meet Our Team
Margaret LeJeune is an interdisciplinary artist, nonprofit leader, and community builder whose work centers on using the arts to spark curiosity, connection, and environmental awareness. Her vision for GroundTruth Institute grew out of more than 20 years of experience designing collaborative, arts-based programs that bring people together around shared challenges and creative solutions.
A lifelong fundraiser and strategic partner, Margaret has secured grant support and built cross-sector collaborations to power immersive exhibitions, environmental arts initiatives, and community-driven conferences and workshops. Her partners have included the Society for Photographic Education, Environmental Photography Collective, Bradley University, Illinois Women's Artist Project, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum, AIDS Rochester, and Batesville Area Arts Council. Across these partnerships, she has focused on creating accessible, place-based programming that strengthens communities and expands who sees themselves reflected in the arts and sciences.
Before launching GroundTruth, Margaret served in leadership and faculty roles at Bradley University and Rochester Institute of Technology, and as Vice-Chair of the Society for Photographic Education, where she supported national initiatives and member engagement. In 2023, she was named Women Science Photographer of the Year by the Royal Photographic Society, recognizing her leadership at the intersection of art, science, and public impact.
Dr. Rose-Marie Muzika brings decades of experience advancing science in service to communities, conservation, and public engagement. She earned her PhD in Forestry from Michigan State University, with a focus on ecology and evolutionary biology, and began her career as a research entomologist and ecologist with the United States Forest Service in Oregon and West Virginia.
Over the years, Rose-Marie has led programs that connect research to real-world impact. She spent much of her career at the University of Missouri, where she served as Professor of Forest Ecology and Forest Health, Department Chair of Forestry, and Associate Director of the School of Natural Resources. In these roles, she guided strategic planning, supported faculty and student development, and strengthened partnerships focused on sustaining healthy forests and resilient landscapes.
Most recently, Rose-Marie served as Director of Science at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, as well as Director of the museum’s field station. There, she championed community-centered science, expanded field research initiatives, and helped translate scientific discovery into meaningful public programs and conservation action.
She is coauthor of Forests of the Southern Appalachian Highlands and Interior Highlands of the United States and has been recognized with a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Iceland, as well as fellowships from Harvard Forest and the European Union. Throughout her career, Rose-Marie has been committed to building collaborative, mission-driven projects that use science to serve both people and the planet.
Rebecca Shulman is a nonprofit leader with more than 25 years of experience strengthening museums and cultural organizations. From 2015–2022, she served as the Founding Director of the Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum, guiding the organization from vision to launch and establishing it as a vibrant community resource dedicated to helping children become explorers and creators of the world.
Previously, Rebecca was Head of Education at the Noguchi Museum, where she expanded access to arts learning for families, teachers, and students. Earlier in her career, she directed the Learning Through Art program at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, building long-term partnerships with public schools and bringing arts-based learning to thousands of students.
As a consultant, Rebecca supports museums and cultural nonprofits with strategic planning, program design, and evaluation, helping organizations clarify their impact and strengthen community engagement. She serves on the editorial board of Curator: The Museum Journal and is a former board member of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable and the New York City Museum Educators Roundtable, reflecting her longstanding commitment to collaboration and sector-wide leadership.
Dr. Jeffrey Kosiorek is an environmental historian who studies the long, evolving relationship between human communities and river environments, with particular attention to how cultural values, economic systems, and ecological processes intersect. He has taught at institutions including the University of Southern California, the University of Mississippi, Hendrix College, Bradley University, California State University Fresno, and Southern New Hampshire University, and has led experiential learning programs focused on ecology, environmental restoration, and cultural sustainability.
Beyond academia, Jeffrey brings a deep personal engagement with environmental systems. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license and an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certification, and has sailed more than 10,000 miles offshore along the Atlantic coast and throughout the Caribbean. He is also an avid birdwatcher and distance runner, and is deeply committed to fostering meaningful connections between people, place, and the living world.