Olga Shalygin Orloff

Critical Care Registered Nurse, Pulitzer Prize Winning Photo journalist, Documentary Filmmaker, RedDoorVideo.com

Cal State LA

B.S. Nursing (1977)

Awarded the Pulitzer Prize with her team in 1992 for coverage of the resignation of Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, the rise of Boris Yeltsin, and the collapse of the Soviet Union while temporarily running the Associated Press (AP) Moscow Bureau’s photo department.
After her permanent appointment, she was responsible for photo coverage in Russia as well as the 14 newly-independent countries that had been part of the Soviet Union. She was the first female photo editor for AP outside the United States.
Worked as staff photographer for the Associated Press, San Francisco Bureau which included coverage of major conflicts such as the U.S. military action in Somalia, and the attempted coup of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991.
Founded RedDoorVideo.com with her husband and produced documentaries that aired on PBS stations across the country. Their films on Afghanistan are part of the Pentagon Library and are used by the U.S. Department of Defense for cultural training. Their films are also included in women’s studies programs and anthropology departments at colleges and universities worldwide.
Served as a staff photographer at the Orange County Register, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Los Angeles Daily News and the San José Mercury News.
After graduation from Cal State L.A. in 1977, she worked as a research nurse for the Keck School of Medicine, USC Division of Nephrology, and Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in the post-surgical and burn intensive care units.

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