Prior to joining the faculty at Western in 2014, Gosen was a visual journalism instructor at Brooks Institute in Ventura, California, for 12 years. He holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno and a bachelor's in photojournalism from San Jose State University. Leading up to his career in academia he spent a decade as a staff photojournalist for newspapers in northern California, Florida and Nevada. He is a proud alum of the first Eddie Adams Workshop from way back in 1988.