Photojournalist Al Drago is the keynote speaker for the 2020 journalismSTL spring conference. Drago is an independent photojournalist based in Washington, DC., where he primarily works for The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Reuters, and the Associated Press. He covers the White House, Congress, national news and politics.

During his time in the nation’s capital, he has covered the final months of the Obama presidency, the 2016 election, and all facets of the Trump White House, including a secret trip to Iraq to greet members of the military over the holidays. He is currently traveling throughout the country on the 2020 campaign trail.

He is one of a few photographers at The Times that follows the President everywhere he goes, whether it’s in the motorcade for a speech down the street, or traveling on Air Force One to accompany the President on a weekend trip.

Drago has garnered numerous accolades, including several first place awards from the White House News Photographers Association, six time National Winner of the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Award, and others from the National Press Photographers Association and Hearst Journalism Awards.

Drago has given back to the photojournalism community, where he is now chair of the student photographer of the year contest for the White House News Photographers Association. Additionally he has lectured at Harvard, the Poynter Institute, Syracuse University, and given the 2019 commencement address

The conference is Monday, March 9 at Saint Louis University. Registration is now open.