Alan Leder, artist, educator, and arts administrator, was born and raised in Chicago, IL. He received a BFA in painting and Art History from Northern Illinois University and his MFA degree in Sculpture and Filmmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). While at SAIC, he studied photography with Barbara Crane and Harold Allen. For several years following graduation he worked as a freelance photojournalist and filmmaker in the US and Mexico.