Cathy Sachs, longtime director of the American Society of Picture Professionals, is retiring at the end of this year. Publishing and photo industry executive Jain Lemos will assume the position of ASPP executive director as of October, finishing the year alongside Sachs.
The woman who has held this position for over 15 years says she retires with mixed emotions: “I had been concerned for some time about how I could step away from this role without hurting the association that I love and have nurtured for so many years,” said Sachs, adding that she has complete trust in Lemos’ competence and ability to take ASPP to a new level.
ASPP national president Michael Masterson agrees. While he describes Sachs as irreplaceable, he praises Lemos’ industryknowledge, networking and communication skills, and technical savvy.
Lemos brings 20 years of experience in the image and publishing industries to the position of ASPP executive director. A member of ASPP since 1989—as well as its former New York chapter president and national education chair—Lemos has also had significant corporate experience. Early in her career, she worked as editor for Harper Collins/News Corp., where she produced and edited large-format photo books. In the early 2000s, she held the post of marketing director for Lonely Planet Images, where she negotiated distribution partnership and licensing agreements with Getty Images, New York Times Digital, AOL, Yahoo! and others.
Since 2005, Jain Lemos Productions has offered production and promotional services to photographers and agencies. Lemos has also consulted with companies such as NewsPlink and Kboom Creative in photo-editing and communications roles. She said: “I am thrilled to be joining ASPP in this capacity and look forward to working together with the Board and members for the advancement of professional photography practices, ethical standards and educational opportunities.”
Sachs is looking forward to a less busy time. In a bon-voyage email to the ASPP membership base, she wrote: “I will remain a loyal ASPP member, of course, but can now have time to pursue my other passions: family and farming, to name just two. (Look for a photograph soon of my grandson and me on a John Deere!)”