Ron Amato is a Professor in the Photography and Related Media department of Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Ron’s art practice revolves around his identity as a Gay man. Some of the issues explored in Ron’s work are aging within the Gay community, male representation in social media and the ongoing political attack on LGBTQ community in the United States. His first monograph, The Box, visually represents Ron’s journey from a boy born into a second-generation Italian-American family in Brooklyn, NY to his current position as a respected educator and artist. Ron's second monograph, 100 Members Only Volume 1, is a visual exploration of the male phallus. Ron is a leader for diversity and inclusion on the FIT campus, serving nine years on The President’s Diversity Council. He has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. His seminal exhibition of intimate self-portraits in NYC in 2000, established Ron as a leading Queer artist. He is a regular contributor to numerous publications with images representing queerness and male sexuality. In his early commercial photography career, Ron was a regular contributor to many print magazine's, including Men's Health and Sports Illustrated. In the early 2000s, he worked in the world of theater, designing projections for numerous productions. He has a BFA in Photography from School of Visual Art, NYC and an MFA in New Media Art and Performance from Long Island University.