Storytellers

Jessie Gladdek, born Jessie Gladin-Kramer to a lifetime of questions about what would someday become of the hyphen, was raised on a sheep farm nearby in Hillsborough. She developed a serious interest in photography at age 13, building a darkroom in her walk-in closet and spending countless hours in the poorly ventilated space developing her craft and likely killing numerous brain cells. Jessie attended Oberlin College and majored in Creative Writing. She moved to Boston in 2005 and landed a job as a studio manager for an award-winning editorial photographer. In 2008 she and her now-husband, Matt, moved to Durham, where they bought a crappy house in an awesome neighborhood, welcomed a pit bull named Cleveland into their lives, and began a never-ending pursuit of making their house less crappy. Jessie’s freelance clients range from nonprofits to universities to magazines; she frequently travels across the country and is especially interested in using photography to tell stories.

Matt Gladdek originally hails from the mighty metropolis of Buffalo, NY, where he first gained an appreciation for cities. Matt then attended Gordon College on the North Shore of Boston before spending four tenths of a decade working in the Massachusetts State Legislature in service to the Commonwealth. From there Matt moved down to Durham, NC, with his partner Jessie to attend UNC Chapel Hill,  earning a Master’s in City & Regional Planning and a Master’s in Public Administration. He now works in his dream job at Downtown Durham, Inc., doing whatever he can to help Durham continue to be a diverse and dynamic place.

Photo Credit, Lissa Gotwals