Bender is a professional nature photographer, writer, educator, and tour leader based in the USA. Her passion for wildlife and the natural environment compels her to connect others with nature through sharing both visual art and in-field experiences that promote conservation, creativity, and ethical photography. When she isn’t in the field creating or leading photography tours where participants explore and expand their personal vision and naturalist skills, she offers a variety of educational programs for photography organizations large and small and is a contributing writer and photographer for the Journal of Wildlife Photography.