Career
She first entered combat as a photographer in Iraq in 2003. She spent 280 days covering humanitarian relief missions and covering Special Forces operations. Her images were used by the President, Secretary of Defense, and Joint Chiefs of Staff to make informed decisions in the battle space.
Pearsall served as a military photographer in the United States Air Force until her wounds lead to her medical discharge.
Since her retirement Pearsall has worked as a professional photographer. Pearsall was profiled on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on the Public Broadcasting Service Newshour.
Pearsall enlisted in the Air Force at age 17. She attended, but never earned a degree at the Staten Island Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, while still in the Air Force.
In 2009 Pearsall assumed the ownership and direction of the Charleston Center for Photography.
