I teach to ignite change, not just deliver content.
I believe in classrooms without shame, critique without cruelty, and learning that sticks because it’s lived. My approach blends rigor and compassion, craft and context. I design curriculum to equip people with not just tools, but confidence—and the power to use creativity in service of justice, healing, and joy.
Skills
- Curriculum design for studio art, printmaking, and design fundamentals
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College-level teaching (15+ years experience across multiple institutions)
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Community-based workshop facilitation (activist art, protest posters, design for justice)
- Inclusive pedagogy and trauma-informed critique practices
- Youth engagement through arts-based learning
- One-on-one coaching and portfolio development
- Digital and analog instruction (hybrid and virtual environments)
- Learning management systems (Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, Google Classroom)
- Public speaking and lecture presentations (academic + community venues)
- Art as ministry and creative vocational discernment
Teaching Philosophy
2005-Present
Outreach Instructor
New York, New Jersey
2020–2024
Adjunct Instructor
Seton Hall University
South Orange, New Jersey
Saint Elizabeth University
Morristown, New Jersey
2011-Present
Adjunct Instructor
New York University SPS
New York, New York
2021–2023
Part-time Instructor
Beyond the Bell
SoMA School District Maplewood, New Jersey
2018-2022
Adjunct Instructor
Middlesex County College
Edison, New Jersey
Adjunct Instructor
Raritan Valley Community College
Branchburg, New Jersey
Adjunct Instructor
Union County College
Cranford, New Jersey
2015-2017
Instructor
Brooklyn Brainery
Brooklyn, New York
2011-2016
Assistant Professor
New York City College of Technology
Brooklyn, New York
2012-2018
Part-Time Faculty
Parsons, The New School
New York, New York
2010-2012
Adjunct Instructor
Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, New York
2008-2011
Adjunct Professor
New York City College of Technology
Brooklyn, New York
1999
Part Time Instructor
Center for Creative Studies
Detroit, Michigan
Art Instructor
Summer Arts Program
Paint Creek Center For the Arts
Rochester, Michigan
1995-1996
Assistant
Lexington Montessori School
Lexington, Virginia
Outreach Instructor
New York, New Jersey
2020–2024
Adjunct Instructor
Seton Hall University
South Orange, New Jersey
Saint Elizabeth University
Morristown, New Jersey
2011-Present
Adjunct Instructor
New York University SPS
New York, New York
2021–2023
Part-time Instructor
Beyond the Bell
SoMA School District Maplewood, New Jersey
2018-2022
Adjunct Instructor
Middlesex County College
Edison, New Jersey
Adjunct Instructor
Raritan Valley Community College
Branchburg, New Jersey
Adjunct Instructor
Union County College
Cranford, New Jersey
2015-2017
Instructor
Brooklyn Brainery
Brooklyn, New York
2011-2016
Assistant Professor
New York City College of Technology
Brooklyn, New York
2012-2018
Part-Time Faculty
Parsons, The New School
New York, New York
2010-2012
Adjunct Instructor
Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, New York
2008-2011
Adjunct Professor
New York City College of Technology
Brooklyn, New York
1999
Part Time Instructor
Center for Creative Studies
Detroit, Michigan
Art Instructor
Summer Arts Program
Paint Creek Center For the Arts
Rochester, Michigan
1995-1996
Assistant
Lexington Montessori School
Lexington, Virginia
No matter the context, I see teaching as a way to sharpen my own practice, renew my engagement, and build the world I want to leave for the next generation.
I start every course with a simple statement:
"You are my future peers. You just don’t know it yet."
Every year, the students seem to shine a little brighter—whether because they’re growing, or because I’ve learned to see their brilliance better, I don’t know. Either way, my goal is the same: I welcome every student fully into the work of art and design, training them to surpass me. Setting that expectation on day one changes everything—it creates a collaborative, demanding environment where we aim for true mastery, not just compliance.
To find excellence in art or design, students must find internal rigor: a line they will not cross, a commitment to caring. I call it Give A Damn. I demand that students care about their effort first—because genuine engagement will get them to mastery far faster than trying to please me.
I’m not interested in training students to follow a curriculum. I’m interested in developing creative citizens of the world.
The essential tool for lifelong creativity is fearless, rigorous play. Risk fuels innovation. Letting go of the familiar makes conceptual leaps possible. Learning to be bad at something—long enough to get good—is the heart of unstoppable growth.
During the long quarantine, fearless play saved my teaching. I failed publicly and openly until I found new ways to create a living classroom across screens of faceless boxes. My students played, too: we made art in kitchens, on driveways, using whatever was at hand. I shifted to complete/incomplete grading to center curiosity and effort over points. I demanded care, and they responded with thoughtfulness, reflection, and disarming honesty.
Teaching is my activism.
It’s how I build the world and industry I want to leave behind.
I work to make my classes reliable, respectful places where students learn and challenge the structures around them. We deconstruct frameworks, redesign portions of the class together, and build the project management skills they’ll need to bring ideas to life. I instill rigor through connection—because that’s where true quality comes from.
In advanced classes, I model and demand the criticality and work ethic that a delving practice demands. My critiques are exacting in content but effervescent in tone: tough on ideas, generous with people. I expect advanced students to have their Give A Damn firmly in place. I don't accept excuses. I applaud strategy, iteration, and resilience.
From the start, I make no promises of fame or fortune. I offer something better:
The tools to build a creative life with integrity—and the perspective to endure the constant change that life demands.
I see the next generation coming.
And I’m here for them.