Renée C. Byer is a catalyst for change. She is a Pulitzer-Prize winning documentary photojournalist and Emmy nominated multimedia producer and videographer best known for her in-depth work focusing on the disadvantaged and those who otherwise would not be heard. Her ability to produce photographs with profound emotional resonance and sensitivity earned her the Pulitzer Prize for “A Mother’s Journey,” feature photography in 2007 and dozens of national and international honors, including the World Understanding Award from Pictures of the Year International, and Pulitzer Finalist in 2013 for “A Grandfather’s Sorrow and Love.” Known for her ability to translate stark statistics into images that connect us to our humanity, she has traveled throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, covering some of the most important issues of our time. Byer’s stories have deepened our understanding of the environment, climate change, extreme poverty, genetically modified food, healthcare, women at war, domestic violence, Black Lives Matter and the drought and economic crisis in California. In 2016 the Sacramento Bee published a 20-page special section, "No Safe Place," featuring her images chronicling the plight of Afghan SIV's as they struggle in the U.S., facing poverty and violence. Renée's images from that project were exhibited at Visa Pour L'Image the premiere photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France in 2017. A powerful image from the deadliest wildfire in California history of an abandoned walker in front of a smoke filled sky in Paradise, CA was selected as TIME magazines top 100 photographs in 2018. Byer was honored by TIME again in 2019 with her storytelling image of a homeless woman taking a bath near a fire hydrant in a makeshift tub. And Byer’s California homeless projects, “Homeless Crisis Worsens,” and “Dead-end Despair were selected in 2022 and 2023 making that her fourth and fifth screening at Visa Pour L’Image.

Byer’s internationally acclaimed book, “Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor,” illuminates the stories of people living on the brink of survival, and invites you to put an end to extreme poverty. The book won First Place Documentary Book from the International Photography Awards in 2014. Byer narrates an award winning documentary about the project that was released in 2016.

An interactive traveling exhibition by Byer, drawn from Living on a Dollar, inspires viewers through compassion, education and social action. In April and May 2016, it was designated as an official exhibition of the Month of Photography, Los Angeles, and later shown at two venues in Sofia, Bulgaria: at the Global Women Leaders’ Forum, sponsored by the UNESCO Division of Gender Equality and the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, and at UniCredit Bulbank. In February 2017 it debuted with the Youbridge.it mobile web application at MMTH Gallery and Atrium at Western Kentucky University where she was featured on CBS Sunday Morning with broadcast journalist Tony Dokoupil.

A charismatic teacher and speaker, Byer stirs audiences to see how unbiased photojournalism can raise awareness and affect meaningful change. Her compelling TEDx Tokyo talk, “The Storytelling Power of Photography,” and her TEDx Sonoma County talk “The World’s Poor and the Power of Photography to Effect Change,” received standing ovations and can be viewed online. Valued for her critical insight, she served for ten years as a judge for the prestigious Days Japan International Photojournalism Awards. In 2016 Byer was invited to join a UNESCO Who’s Who of Women Speakers. Byer is one of a core group of 70 women chosen to mark the 70th anniversary of UNESCO. 

Byer’s photographs have appeared in publications and exhibitions throughout the world, including Paris Match, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, and notably at the International Photojournalism Festival Visa Pour L’Image five times in Perpignan, France. Photographs from Byer’s book were selected by renown photo editor Karen Mullarkey for a stunning display at The 2014 Tech Awards gala in San Jose, CA. An interactive video interview with Byer that showed her Pulitzer Prize-winning images were on permanent exhibit in the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. until it closed. Byer’s work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, including at Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, LOOK3 the Festival of the Photograph, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, Palm Beach Photographic Center, Annenberg Space for Photography, Hartmann Center Gallery, Exposure Gallery, Chiang Mai Festival of Photography, Photokina, Days Japan International Exhibit, and Angkor Wat Photography Festival. 

Byer’s non-profit “Positive Change Can Happen” that supports her exhibition through education to end exteme poverty by 2030, won a World Report Award Documenting Humanity and her images were exhibited at festival della FOTOGRAFIA ETICA in Lodi, Italy.

As a Senior Photojournalist for the storied Sacramento Bee, Byer’s images are syndicated worldwide through Tribune News Service, AP, Getty and ZUMA Press. Her career has led her to multimedia projects, personal book projects and photography exhibitions. 

Renée C. Byer graduated cum laude from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. She is a proud member of the Centurion Society of the university. Entry to the Centurion Society is the highest honor that the university awards to alumni. Over the years, Centurions have made significant contributions across almost every sector and discipline of human endeavor. In business, culture, science, public service and more, they have been a beneficial force for society and for the advancement of knowledge.