Todd Heisler, a 1994 graduate of Illinois State University, joined the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado, as a staff photographer in 2001. Before the News, Heisler worked at a number of community newspapers in Suburban Chicago, where he grew up.

Since the start of the Iraq War, Heisler has made three trips to Iraq, spending most of his time embedded with U.S. troops. Heisler was a member of the photo team that earned the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for his coverage of Colorado's worst wildfire season.