Barbara Beirne has worked as a documentary photographer for over twenty-five years.  She has photographed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, India, Nepal and Ecuador. Among her projects in the United States are photographs of women in Southern Appalachia, Kosovar refugees, and The Community FoodBank of New Jersey.  She is currently photographing teenagers who are first generation Americans. Included in the project are essays and poems written by the teens about their immigration experiences.  Ms. Beirne holds a master of fine arts degree in photography from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York and has studied with Philip Perkis and Robert Mapplethorp. Her photographs have been widely exhibited in museums and galleries.  A four year nation-wide tour of her work with Appalachian women was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. For five years Ms. Beirne was an adjunct professor of photography at County College of Morris, Randolph, New Jersey.  She is the author and photographer of five children's books.