Robin Saidman

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR VITAL EDGE

Robin arrived in the USA as a fashion photographer .Along the road a couple of photographic assignments for Concern Worldwide in Ethiopia and Haiti, triggered a new interest in the photographing the work of NGO’s worldwide: Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, and Nepal. South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Kenya, Nepal, Bolivia and Colombia. An exhibition of these photographs in 2005 sparked the creation of Vital Edge, as a not for profit, with Robin Saidman as it’s Executive Director. Originally Vital Edge was conceived as a way to implement extremely small achievable projects focused upon specific transportation needs funded by a loyal group of individuals from the area around Sag Harbor, NY: a Bus for blind schoolgirls in Mysore, India, Ambulances for pregnant women in the mountainous areas of Pakistan, Water transportation for refugees in Afghanistan. As the funding increased with the addition of corporate partners, Vital Edge has grown into a far reaching NGO with programs currently operational in Mali , Senegal and Nepal, implementing long-term scalable programs focused upon Indigenous Artisan Development, Health, Micro-savings, and Micro-agriculture.

Robin Saidman graduated with a degree in Social Anthropology at The University of Edinburgh and a master’s degree in Film & TV from the Royal College of Art in London. He is the executive director of Vital Edge and the CEO of Duck & Weave, shirt makers based in Sag Harbor, NY, where he lives and sails and waits for his three children to visit him.