Presidential Team Archive
Currently the Presidential Team Archive provides information only for those members active during the inception of the first National Student Chapter website in 2001. Student Chapter was actually founded in 1977. If you were involved during or before that, send us your info! For the student officer history please click here.
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Dr. Victoria Fergus Advisor 2001-2005 |
Biography:
Victoria grew up smack in the middle of Tennessee in Tullahoma (1 out of 1 billion has heard of this town).
She received the graduating senior art award from her high school.
Her BA and MA are from George Peabody College for Teachers, which is now part of Vanderbilt, and her Ph.D. is from Purdue University.
She has taught K-12 and college level art in Tennessee, Louisiana, Indiana, and now teaches at West Virginia University.
She served as the Higher Education Division Director of NAEA before becoming the National Student Chapter Advisor and is also the faculty advisor and founder of the WVU Chapter.
She is a past-President and the current Treasurer of WVAEA.
Victoria has received the WV Art Educator of the Year twice, the Eastern Region Art Educator of the Year, Higher Education Eastern Region Educator of the Year, and a NAEA Presidential Citation.
She is also a practicing artist in fibers with an exhibition record of solo, state, regional, national, and international shows.
She assisted in writing the NAEA Visual Art Teacher Preparation Standards, and co-authored Thinking About Teaching Art?: Answers for Students, Parents, & Counselors.
Victoria is also a grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education for national Title II Teaching and Learning Incentive Grants.
Travel has taken her to China, Mexico, Australia, and Spain (this one on horseback for 2 weeks).
Her latest misadventure to stave off boredom is becoming a member of a new artist co-op and opening The Gallery at Seneca Center as a part owner in July 2001.
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Bart Francis President 2006 - 2008 |
Biography:
Bart was born in Moab Utah. He received his associate’s of science at a community college in southern Utah before serving a two year mission for his Church in Argentina. Bart is currently perusing an undergraduate degree in Art Education with a minor in coaching at Brigham Young University in Utah. There he has served as the school’s NAEA student chapter president.He feels strongly that art allows students a precious glimpse into the human experience. Art is one of the few subjects that offers more than one right answer to a problem. This nurtures the creative and critical thinkers that will rewrite the way we live our lives in the future. Bart believes the visual arts allow students to explore the beliefs and values of other cultures and people, creating an atmosphere of tolerance in the classroom. He feels strongly that art should be recognized and upheld on its intrinsic values. He is extremely excited about contemporary artists. He enjoys producing all types of art, and especially enjoys sculpture. He is currently focusing in on ceramics. He also likes using Photoshop and Illustrator. He recently married an accountant…I guess opposites do attract. He is excited to hear the ideas of fellow art educators and looks forward to serving in the NAEA presidency.
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Jim
O'Donnell President 2005 - 2006 |
Biography:
Jim is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida pursuing a degree in Art Education with a minor in Art History and a concentration in Drawing. He is basically a Florida native although he expects that art education will take him both near and far in the future. Social justice is Jim's great interest and he hopes to approach issues such as racism, sexism, and heterosexism in his future classroom. His current work focuses on the integration of erotic imagery into the secondary art classroom for the purpose of empowering students, aka "Is there room in the art room for sex?"
Interestingly, Jim started out in advertising at a small college outside of NYC, however he eventually followed his heart and decided to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Jim's dad said in response to this change, "Well, you can do that for a few years and then go back to school to learn something else so that you can live 'comfortably." Riiiiiiiight.
Speaking of living comfortably, he hopes to also interest kids in a variety of art-related fields so that more kids can integrate art into their lives and have a greater chance at success. Oh, and he feels technology is important in the art classroom, after all, Jim did design this website and has worked as a web designer.Jim's goals for Student Chapter are to increase communication between members, reach out to early-professional members, and increase offerings for students at the state level. Beyond that, he plans to teach art, work in/teach in/visit Japan, England, Europe, Mexico, NYC, and various other locales, pursue art, get married, revamp American education, and change the world.
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Mark Hay President 2004-2005 |
Biography:
Mark Hay was born in San Diego, CA, but has spent the last fifteen years of his life in Illinois. After being elected NAEA National Student Chapter President-Elect, he graduated from Illinois State University with a B.S. in Art with a sequence in teacher education and a concentration in drawing. During his time at ISU, Mark served one year as student chapter secretary, and one year as vice president. Currently, Mark is employed with Community High School District 155 and teaches at Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Illinois. He teaches Introduction to Art and Photography, and he is a yearbook advisor.
Mark has yet to decide what his passion is in the world of art. He considers himself skilled in drawing, but also loves to do photography, ceramics, and painting. Since graduating, Mark still takes college art courses as a means of professional development and artistic expression.
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Heather R. S. Oberholtzer President 2003-2004 |
Biography:
Born and raised in Western Pennsylvania in a small town called Kittanning. While I enjoyed summers on the river, caramel apples at county fairs, and four-wheeling on the back roads, I always considered my college experience my ticket to see the world. Over the last five years I have transformed into a committed professional in art education and I owe much of that to not only the staff and faculty at Kent State University, but to the teaching professionals and inspiring students I have encountered inside N.E. Ohio’s various school systems. I owe my childhood to Pennsylvania and my womanhood to Ohio.
All my life I have felt compelled to help people. I have a defining memory as nine-year-old child watching television with my dad one evening. As one of our favorite programs cut to a commercial, a young boy about half my age appeared on the screen. He was barely clothed. The narrator began describing the living conditions of “this boy and countless others.” As the commercial ended its sixty-second run, more pictures of children with insects on their cheeks and yellow mucus in their eyes were shown. Before I knew it, I was tearfully begging my parents to send my weekly allowance to the 1-800 number on the screen. From organizing a carnival in the backyard to profit Children’s Hospital to spending childhood summers at environmental camps, my quest has been to do something meaningful with my life.
I believe the most influential, beneficial, and valuable career I could possibly pursue is teaching; and the most exciting, effective way to do it is through the arts. I am compelled to make the world a better place and I can not imagine a more successful way to execute this passion than through teaching a love for learning, exploration, and discovery. Although I know in my head, studying art education was my choice, it know in my heart, art education chose me. I hope I can give back to the profession as much as it has given me.
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Anne Blue President 2002-2003
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Biography:
Anne Blue received her Bachelors degree in Art Education at Illinois State University (ISU) in 2001. She grew up in the South Suburbs of Chicago graduating from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in 1997. She comes from a close-knit family that includes her mom, dad, and younger brother and sister. Her high school art teacher told her to be an art major, so
she decided to be like her teacher. During her time at ISU, she was co-president of the ISU NAEA Student Chapter 2000-01, co-Publicity Coordinator for the ISU NAEA Student Chapter 1999-2000, and the Undergraduate Representative for the ISU College of Fine Arts Council
2000-01. While serving the NAEA Student Chapter, Anne completed student teaching, graduated, filled a permanent substitute art position at a catholic elementary school, and was hired full-time at her alma mater, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, as a Photography and Yearbook instructor.During her presidency, Anne started the E-Bulletin, re-organized the list-serve database, created a digital database of every school in the U.S. that had art education certification capabilities, and contributed to the increase of student membership, conference attendance, and registered chapters. She also help start initiatives such as the RAEA Mentor Program and NAHS Mentor Program as well as assisting RAEA in streamlining the Student Chapter of the Year Award selection process. At the end of her presidency, Anne began an initiative to create a support system for Early Professionals in art education.
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Heather Rayius President 2001-2002
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Elicia Timpson President 2000-2001
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Biography:
Elicia Timpson is a local of Provo, UT and enjoys art, human service and hiking. Her biography is a series of events she often likes to recall:
She shaved her head after losing a bet with her sixth grade art students... (she also won 5 minutes of fame on Television)
She fought vampire mosquitos and deadly heat waves as she hiked 1450 miles of the Appalachian Trail
Elicia taught in Zimbabwe, Africa during massive political unrest.
She learned to play the violin at the age of 5 and is still managing to torment others with this talent!
She spent 18 months teaching religion in British Columbia, Canada and admiring the local beauty.
Elicia is currently surviving her first year teaching at Independence High School, an alternative school for troubled youth.
Finally, and most importantly, Elicia became President of the NAEA Student Chapter!
Biography:
Aimee Erwin is a fun spirited person to those who know her and her biographical timeline contains an interesting series of events:
Aimee grew up eating Sizzelean on Lake Ontario in Rochester, NY.
In 1990 she was ejected from a high school art class for painting her face and kissing her canvas.
In 1993, Aimee received an A.A.S. degree in graphic design from Monroe Community College in NY.
She later moved to the shores of Lake Superior where she learned how to ski through town to get to art class quicker.
In 1999 Aimee received a B.S. in Art Education (ceramics and graphic design) from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI
Aimee then moved to North Carolina to teach middle school, battle Hurricane Floyd, and face the melting temperatures.
In 2000, she moved to Tennessee, working at a Montessori school and regaining sanity through yoga and painting.
Aimee's future plans include being the first in her family to gain a Ph.D, run one dog sled race, and own a mountain art school combining science and art education with survival skills.
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