Larry Gawel grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania(earning a BFA Degree in Applied Media Arts with a concentration in Photography), and ultimatelyattended Penn State, graduating with a MFA Degree in 1994. After graduation he relocated to Tempe,Arizona where he established his art practice, started a commercial photography business, and heldadjunct teaching positions at Arizona State University and within the Maricopa County CommunityCollege system. In 1998, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska and began working at Metropolitan CommunityCollege in Omaha. Since 2002 he has acted as the Photography Program Coordinator, managing adepartment that includes three full-time and five adjunct faculty members for a student body of about100 students. From 2008 to 2022 he operated WorkSpace Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska to exhibitphotographic works by contemporary photographers. In 2013, he was elected as the Chairpersonof the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Photographic Education and currently is a National BoardMember for the organization.