I am an artist and an arts educator trained at Teachers College, Columbia University with 50 years plus teaching experience in a variety of educational settings on the elementary through high school, college and graduate school levels as well as in senior and community centers. After retiring in 2011 as Arts in Education Director for Brooklyn Arts Council, I was selected as a Fulbright Program Specialist as a teaching artist and represented the US in working with adults in Uganda and India. I have been a teaching artist (with emphasis on visual and performing arts) throughout the United States and love working with all age groups, especially older adults, my peers. For many years I worked as an arts administrator directing arts education programs on local, state, and national levels. I have worked with schools and supervised sequential arts education programs. I love all aspects of arts education and welcome opportunities to continue working as a teaching artist as well as explore options to mentor and train personnel in schools, community organizations, arts agencies, libraries, senior centers and beyond. My areas of expertise include: strategies, techniques and activities to strengthen arts education program development, implementation and evaluation, as well as advocacy, funding, documentation, social media and public relations. For the past five years I have been teaching youth, parents, teachers, and older adults while continuing to hone my own skills as an artist by taking ongoing visual arts courses at Fashion Institute of Technology as a Senior Scholar.

I became an art teacher at age 21. At age 79, I am still going strong. My interest in working with older adults is based on my life-long love of being an artist and an art teacher. Since I retired in 2011 as an arts educator and arts administrator, I have returned to the field I have always loved----teaching. Soon after retiring, I conducted holiday programs for seniors at the Goddard-Riverside and Hamilton Senior Centers. In 2015, I loved working with seniors at the NYC Chinatown Senior Center as a grantee with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. I want to continue working with older adults because I believe my upbeat teaching style engenders a feeling of pride and accomplishment as my students delight in their own creative process. I am committed to the “process” of the creation of art. I stress process more than product because I want my students to follow their own ideas and celebrate their own creativity and delight in their discoveries. I believe my work with seniors has provided opportunities for self-expression and reminiscence-based work as they share with others the more salient aspects of their lives. I welcome the opportunity to share these lively, hands-on, fun techniques to stimulate mental activity, promote positive social interaction, while fostering friendships and interpersonal skills. I am especially sensitive to people who don’t think they have any talent in art. I strive to motivate everyone to do their best and enjoy their own process and creativity.