KK Ottesen documents the stories of people’s lives through photographs and written narrative.  Her first book, Great Americans, explores the lives of everyday people all across the United States, who happen to share names with some of the country’s most famous and infamous icons.  Great Americans has been featured on The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s All Things Considered, Public Radio International, Eye on Books, and Fox Morning News; as well as in newspapers and magazines across the country, including The San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Chicago Sun Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New York Observer, Reader’s Digest, and Entertainment Weekly.  Ottesen is currently working on her second book, and contributes regularly to The Washington Post Magazine’s First Person Singular feature, and has contributed recently to Esquire Magazine.  She also enjoys taking on select commissioned work.

In addition to writing and photography, Ms. Ottesen has worked on Wall Street as an investment banker, and served as the CEO of a national nonprofit organization promoting economic investment in lower-income communities.  She is active in work to provide educational and life experiences for at-risk students in Washington, DC.  Ottesen earned her BA in political theory from Wesleyan University and her MBA in finance from Yale University.  She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and their two young children.