Bethany Swain

Bethany Swain is a nationally recognized photojournalist, multimedia producer and educator who spent most of her career innovating at CNN. Now she focuses on inspiring the next generation of storytellers.

While at CNN, Swain traveled thousands of miles — from Afghanistan to the presidential campaign trail. She won dozens of awards during her 10 years as one of the only women photojournalists at CNN, including the first woman named Video Photographer of the Year by the White House News Photographers Association. Her shooting, editing and storytelling skills have been honored dozens of times, including by National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and Broadcast Education Association (BEA).

Swain has held leadership positions with Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW), American Journalism Review (AJR), NPPA, WHNPA and Critical Exposure. She was the faculty advisor who helped launch Stories Beneath the Shell, SBS News and the NPPA UMD student chapter. She is a leader with Poynter’s Teachapalooza conference, an Elevate teaching fellow and an ADVANCE fellow.

Swain’s ViewFinder students create in-depth visual journalism projects, including a yearlong investigation into Maryland’s opioid crisis.

Prior to CNN, Swain worked at WPTZ in Vermont, WJAR in Rhode Island, and NewsChannel 8 in Washington.