Jessica is a facilitator of learning experiences that bridge the arts, the natural world, schools, self, and community. Her commitment to engaging learners in authentic creative expression is rooted in her own explorations with visual arts, dance, the natural world and world cultures. She is a certified teacher with fifteen years experience teaching in alternative and traditional school settings. She earned her M.A. in Experiential Education at Prescott College in Prescott, AZ and her B.A., Magna Cum Laude in English/Writing and Fine Arts, at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Nature continues to be her most influential muse and teacher. 

Mari Livie has been a teaching artist in Lane County schools since 1999. She creates and teaches arts workshops for schools, city programs, and healthcare facilities. Working with these various organizations brings Mari into contact with a diverse population of blossoming artists and educators. She’s generated arts workshops for children with autism, the elderly, incarcerated youth, homeless youth, alter-abled adults, English language learners, teachers, and war veterans. Mari pursues her own arts practice on days she is not teaching. You can see her work at marilivie.com and hear her work on soundcloud.com/thankyou-einstein.

Nate K. Beard is an Integrated Learning Specialist, drama teacher, and professional development provider, currently building teacher and administration efficacy in arts integration. His work focuses primarily on social and emotional health including skills in communication, collaboration, metacognition, and metaphorical thinking. Built from a background in tragedy-based drama therapy, he has developed and co-developed curriculum and teaching practices that provide opportunities for meaning-making for adolescent students. He has trained over 100 educators in process drama techniques.

Ross is a designer, researcher, and strategist in the education field working to harness creative development and embodied learning potential of educators and students, alike. His work aims to create equitable, engaging, and aspirational learning environments and to understand the systemic and individual factors that play a role. His 12 years of leadership and innovation in the education field emerges from personal experience in architectural design and 15 years practicing the art of Afro-Brazilian Capoeira. Ross earned his B.A in architecture at Yale University and his Ph.D. in educational leadership at the University of Oregon. He has led large research and development projects, publishing research on creative development, educational change, and arts integrated teaching and learning in numerous journals and book series.