Photographer Ami Vitale‘s career began in Guinea-Bissau when she was visiting her sister in the Peace Corp. Vitale expected Africa to be filled with war, famine, plague, or, the other extreme, exotic safaris. Living in West Africa for six months showed her not only “how the majority of people on the planet live their day-to-day life,” but that people were not as hopeless as the newspapers portrayed. There was “a great deal of joy there.” It is a revelation that has guided Vitale through 80 countries and a 13-year career.

Vitale’s original desire to take “beautiful pictures” was transformed into a desire to do justice to people and their stories. Her focus has centered on issues surrounding women, poverty, and health. The common denominator to all of her stories, she realized, is nature, specifically climate change. Women bare the brunt of those changes. But when a woman is offered the tools to improve her situation, she runs with the opportunity. She transforms communities. “It’s a ripple effect,” says Vitale.

The desire to see change led Vitale to join Ripple Effect Images, a photography organization started by Annie Griffiths that shares imagery with other changemakers. “We are telling the stories that are so important and get lost in the headlines,” says Vitale. “They are the key to connecting things and allowing people to get engaged and make a difference.”