2021 Ohio Art Educator of the Year
Carrie A. Barnett

“When I look at my own life and my path to becoming an art educator, I cannot ignore the encouragement I received from so many of my own art teachers.  As I made the decision to teach art when I was a senior in high school, my goal was to help others love art the way my teachers helped me.  One of my favorite quotes is from Gian Lorenzo Bernini:  ‘What we have is given by God and to teach it to others is to return it to him.’  I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to teach art to others.”

Carrie's Accomplishments

• The Summit Country Day Upper School Art Teacher, 2018-Present
• The Summit Country Day School Visual Art Department Curriculum Coordinator 2021-Present
• NAEA Western Region Summer Leadership Meeting Co-Chair 2021
  
• OAEA ARTline Contributor, articles written quarterly during all Leadership Roles
• Extensive exhibition record of personal art works, 2007-Present
• OAEA Past President 2021-Present
• OAEA ED & Liaison, 2021-Present
• NAEA Delegates Assembly, Ohio Delegate, 2018-2021
• The Summit Country Day School Arts Leadership Team Moderator 2020-Present
• NAEA National Leadership Conference Presenter 2020
• OAEA Fellows Induction, 2020
• Ohio Department of Education, Standards Working Group 2019-2020
• OAEA President, 2019-2020
• OAEA President Elect, 2018
• NAEA Conference Presenter, 2018
• NAEA School for Art Leaders, 2017
• OAEA 2nd Vice President, 2015-2017
• OAEA Southwest Regional Director, 2012-2015
• OAEA Secondary Division Award, 2014
• OAEA Local Planning Committee On-Site and Banquet Chair, Cincinnati 2012, 2016
• OAEA Secondary Division Chair, 2 year term
• OAEA Southwest Regional HIgh School Art Exhibition Chair, 2 year term
• OAEA Southwest Outstanding Art Teacher Award, 2009

2020 Ohio Art Educator of the Year
Alice Tavani

“I want my students to know that visual art is such a complex discipline that stretches over time and across every culture in our world.  Each culture’s art reflects who they are and each are very different but there are common threads that tie them all together.  My students should know that art has basic elements and principles that artist use to create art and that viewers use to read the art much like we read the words in a novel.  I want my students to know that there are eight different types of art but that each one is unique with its own materials, tools, techniques, history, and hidden joys.”

West Region

•  OAEA Dayton Local Conference Planning Committee Coordinator, 2020
  
• OAEA President Elect, President, and Past President, 2015 – 2020
  
• OAEA conference Presenter, 2005-present
• NAEA Delegates Assembly, 2016-2019
• NAEA Leadership Summit, 2016, 2018

2019 Ohio Art Educator of the Year
Susan Ruttle Lawrence

Adjunct Instructor, Co-Director and Academic Advisor, Art Education Program, Mount St. Joseph University, OH
“Mrs. Lawrence shared her wisdom, energy and excitement generously and patiently with hundreds of practicum and student teachers. She was the most in-demand cooperating mentor; student teachers pleaded to be placed under her guidance, knowing they would learn from the best. Consequently, she helped to shape the excellent quality of many future/now current art educators, influencing their programs and their students. An impressive legacy!” –Dr. Sharon Kesterson Bollen

Susan Ruttle Lawrence's Accomplishments

• NAEA Western Region Middle School Art Teacher of the Year, 1999
• NAEA convention presenter, two times
• OAEA Circa Society member, 35 years
• OAEA Ohio Art Educator of the Year nominee, 2010, 2018
• OAEA Middle Division Award, 1998
• OAEA Southwest Region Outstanding Art Teacher Award, 1994
• OAEA Southwest Region Vice President
• OAEA Southwest Region Newsletter Editor
• OAEA Regional OAEA High School Exhibition Chairperson
• Regional OAEA YAM/YPAE Art Exhibition Chairperson
• OAEA Local Conference Planning Committee Chair & Co-Chair
• OAEA Local Conference Committee Fundraising Chair
• 30-time OAEA conference presenter
• Co-Director, Teacher as Artist Graduate Summer Workshops for Art Educators, Mount St. Joseph University
• Assistant Director, Studio Art Workshops for Children – Studio San Giuseppe, Mount St. Joseph University
• Committee Member, Cincinnati Art Museum Teacher Steering Committee 
• Committee Member, Contemporary Art Center Education Committee
• 2018 Community Outreach Award, Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District
• 2016 Outstanding Adjunct Award – Mount St. Joseph University
• 2012 Oak Hills Local School District PTA Educator of the Year Award
• 2012, 2011 Delhi Middle School PTA Educator of the Year Award – Oak Hills School District
• 2010 National Endowment for the Humanities Recipient: Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop
• Grant awardee nine times: Oak Hills Educational Foundation Grants, Oak Hills School District
• Practicing and exhibiting artist, including Mount St. Joseph University Art & Design Faculty Exhibition, 2014, 2016, 2018; Kennedy Heights Juried Summer Exhibition, 2016; Parallel Visions Exhibition, Studio San Giuseppe, Mount St. Joseph University, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012

“Exemplary art teaching and meaningful art making are the result of lifelong pursuits of exploration and learning, not something mastered in a single course or experience. The challenge while working with pre-service art educators is trying to ignite their passion, their love of on-going research and artistic experimentation so that when they step into their own art classrooms as artist/teachers they will feel empowered to provide intellectually stimulating units of study that are relevant and rewarding to their students. Gone are the days of prescribed art projects, rather, art students are now continually asked to stretch, explore and invest personal meaning within their works of art.”
​–Susan Ruttle Lawrence

2018 Ohio Art Educator of the Year
Linda Hoeptner-Poling, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer of Art Education at Kent State University Juliann Dorff writes, “Dr. Hoeptner-Poling is a steadfast, enthusiastic supporter of the Ohio Art Education Association, a leader on the national stage through her work with the National Art Education Association and the Kennedy Center’s VSA, the International Organization for the Arts and Individuals with Disabilities, the mentor of a generation of art educators currently successfully teaching the visual arts to children in PreK-12 classrooms across the country and the world.”

Linda Hoeptner-Poling’s Accomplishments
Art Educator in Ohio since 1989:

• 2013 Associate Professor, Art Education; Kent State University (Tenured 2008; Promoted 2014).
• HERS Institute alumna, leadership preparation for women in higher education.
• 1991-2003 Kent State University (part time; Non-Tenure Track).
• 1996-97 Art Educator, Solon - grades K-1.
• 1991-1995 Art Educator, Bedford - grades 6-12.
• 1991 Art Educator, Ravenna - grades K-12, Emotionally Disturbed).

 
Publications:

• 9 articles and chapters in books.
• 1 co-edited book contract in press (2018 publication).
• 4 online, fully down-loadable art curriculum guides written with Juli Dorff for Kennedy Center: VSA International Art Program for Children with Disabilities.
• Numerous invited columns and newsletter columns for OAEA and NAEA Women’s Caucus.

 
Presentations:

• OAEA: 22
• NAEA: 34
• International: 2
• Interdisciplinary: 11

Leadership Roles:

• President, NAEA Women’s Caucus: 2016-2018.
• Provost’s Faculty Associate for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Kent State University.
• OAEA Awards Chair: since 2016.
• OAEA Local Conference Committee Co-Chair.
• Higher Education Division Co-Chair: 2013-15; 2005-2007.
• Society for Educating Women: Conference Chair: 2011-2012.
• President, Society for Educating Women: 2012-2013.
• On three editorial boards, as a Manuscript Reviewer: Journal of Art for Life; Journal of Visual Culture and Gender; and International Journal of Life-Long Learning in Art Education
• Ohio Board of Regents: Visual Arts Program Reviewer (contractor) since 2013; average: 3 programs per year reviewed.
• Taught “Self-Express Fest” workshops in various KSU Diversity, Equity & Inclusion centers, including: LGBTQ Center; Student Multicultural Center; Women’s Center.
• Launched “More than Words Can Say” art group for survivors of sexual assault, through Sexual Relationship and Violence Support Services, KSU, 2017-present.
• Collaborated to create Women’s Faculty Summit at KSU, to support women-identifying faculty.

 “I have found purpose in helping others find their voice and tell their stories through art, whether they are 3 years old or 102 years old (my youngest and most seasoned students). Art is vital to survival; to dive deep into visual ways of self-expression and creative thinking is one facet of what makes life worth living. Whether I am teaching a young child or an adult at the end of their life, I believe there is no better way to affirm and celebrate their voice and part in this world. As art educators, we have a heavy yet joyful responsibility to be the conduit that makes possible the most profound ways of being human, in making sense of oneself as well as our connections to each other. There is no higher calling. I take this calling most seriously.”


~ Linda Hoeptner-Poling.