Ziad Sifri
Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Ziad Sifri moved to Montreal, Canada, at the age of eighteen to complete his undergraduate studies in biology and attend medical school at McGill University. He received his training as a general surgeon at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and specialized in trauma and critical care at UMDNJ-NJMS in Newark, New Jersey. He currently works as a full-time trauma and critical-care surgeon at the New Jersey Trauma Center. Among his various interests, Ziad considers photography to be his primary hobby and enjoys taking candid pictures of people as well as nature. His affinity for photography intensified while on a medical mission in Ghana in 2008 and the series of documentary photographs that were the result of that trip have been on display as part of the fundraising efforts for future ISHI missions.

Asha Bale
After completing her general surgical training at UMDNJ, New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, Asha Bale was awarded a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery at Willis-Knighton Medical Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center. Now specializing in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Asha’s interests are varied, from tennis spectatorship, Impressionist art, and travel, to research in the areas of bariatric surgery, surgical-resident education, and quality improvement in surgery. But it is her passion for humanitarian work that took her to Ghana in 2008, where she led a surgical team that performed more than 80 life-saving surgeries in two weeks.

Vishnu Hoff
Vishnu Hoff is a RISD-educated photographer with previous careers in motion picture production and medical imaging. While practiced in portraiture and studio photography, his true passion shows in his documentary photographs, where he examines the lives and experiences of people with genuine curiosity, compassion, and empathy while maintaining a cinematic eye and storyteller’s voice. Vishnu has photographed rare temple ceremonies in Bali, political elections in Indonesia, village life in Russia, a medical mission in Ghana, and behind the scenes in New York’s burlesque community.

Kimberly Riback
An editor and writer by trade, Kimberly Riback’s career has taken her in many divergent and often unlikely directions, from museum publishing to sports journalism and event planning for a major West Coast cancer center. Her freelance clients include Los Angeles Magazine, Buzz Magazine, Giant Robot, the Santa Monica Film Festival, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the City of New York, as well as several bestselling authors. Well versed in the areas of fine art, public relations, and marketing, her real interest lies in philanthropic reporting and writing. In 2008 she had the opportunity to finally realize this life-long passion while participating in a medical mission to Ghana.