Deborah Willis is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Departments of Social and Cultural Analysis and Africana Studies, where she teaches courses on Photography and Imaging, iconicity, and cultural histories visualizing the black body, women, and gender.
She is the author of 8 books including Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers - 1840 to the Present and a practicing art photographer whose work has appeared in exhibits at the Schomburg Center, the International Center of Photography, and many others.