Contact us at antiracistartteachers@gmail.com

WHO WE ARE and What We Do:

Anti-Racist Art Teachers is a collective of educators residing across the United States who promote inclusive thinking, celebrate diversity, and inspire transformative action through art education. We seek to provide educators and caregivers resources to explore anti-bias and anti-racist concepts through art-making that engages youth in critical conversations about voice, power, bias, race, equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice. Currently, our website provides anti-bias, anti-racist related resources, curriculum ideas, lesson plans, artists, and more. We also hold monthly virtual book clubs, affinity spaces, and community conversations to share knowledge and collaborate with educators worldwide.

Anti-Racist Art Teachers has been recognized and referenced by K–12 educators and college professors for offering an invaluable resource to introduce anti-bias, anti-racist concepts, and diverse artists in the classroom. We have led professional development sessions for various school districts and national organizations seeking to become more equitable and inclusive in their classroom practice. In addition, we have participated in numerous podcasts, webinars, town halls, and more. In 2022, we were selected as one of HundrED’s top 100 innovative educational movements. HundrED is a global education nonprofit whose mission is to help improve education through impactful innovations. Art provides us the space to conceptualize an equitable future, transform and heal communities, illuminate injustices, educate others, and inspire action. Together, we can imagine and create a better world!

Leadership Team Members

Email Us

antiracistartteachers@gmail.com

Paula Liz:
Executive Director

Executive Director & Founder
Bio: (she/her/ella) Born in Puerto Rico and raised near Baltimore, Paula Liz attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she received her BFA in Painting and MAT in Art Education. She believes in the power of student voice and community artivism. Paula Liz has over 10 years of teaching experience at public, independent, and charter schools in New York City, Austin, Washington DC, and Maryland. Paula Liz currently teaches Elementary art at a two-way immersion school.

Email: paulalizart@gmail.com
Insta: @paulaliz.art
TpT: Art with Ms. Paula Liz
YouTube: Art with Ms. Paula Liz
Site: Paula Liz Art

Abby

Assistant DirectorBio: (she/her) is an artist and educator with a passion for fostering creativity and confidence in her students. With experience teaching middle and high school level, she embraces choice-based art and Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) pedagogy, empowering students to shape their artistic journey while nurturing their creativity.
Abby’s involvement in the Fulbright Teachers Exchange Program, where she served as an exchange teacher to the United Kingdom, was a pivotal experience that reinforced her dedication to cross-cultural learning and teaching. Abby actively seeks opportunities to engage in educational and cultural exchange opportunities.
As an advocate for equity and inclusivity in education, Abby is committed to anti-racist, anti-bias, and culturally responsive teaching. As a part of this journey, she has co-authored, “Anti-Racist Art Activities for Kids: 30 + Creative Projects that Celebrate Diversity and Inspire Change” with her fellow friends and colleagues in the collective, Anti-Racist Art Teachers. Abby truly believes in the transformative power of art education and feels fortunate to be one of the many art teachers making a positive impact every day.

Lori

Assistant DirectorBio: (she/her) Lori grew up Somewhere Over the Rainbow with a family heritage interlaced in Hawaiian, Portuguese, and Puerto Rican cultures. She has lived and worked with Indigenous artists and communities worldwide. She has taught in many contexts across the USA and internationally. Lori supports the application of a social justice lens in art education via community and social practices that include BIPOC artists who use art to bring awareness, critique, transformation, and empowerment via anti-racist and culturally relevant ideologies. She believes in moving beyond tolerance toward valuing/honoring difference. In addition she highlights the use of critical discourses to investigate the intersection of place and identity. Lori sees art as a direct expression of our humanity and a powerful tool for healing and building knowledge that corrects the myths that displace and disempower communities. Lori upholds that art education is a realm where we can seriously nurture change that empowers us to honor true equity, diversity, and inclusion.

E-mail:
lorisantosarted@gmail.com

Khadesia

Bio: (she/her) Khadesia was born and raised in South Carolina. She majored in Art Education. As an African-American teacher, Khadesia has always believed in the importance of teaching diverse, inclusive lessons that can help mold students to be loving global citizens of the future. With only a few years under her belt, she has been inspired by many teachers to continue highlighting the importance of Anti-Racist art teaching.

Advisory Committee Members

Tamara

Bio: (she/hers) Tamara was raised in California by a single mother who immigrated from Brazil. Tamara is mixed. She is Afrolatinx, Indigenous, and Ashkenazi Jewish. She teaches students of color and coaches teachers in Southern California with a social justice lens. She has been teaching for 6 years and has taught 5th, 4th, 2nd, and 1st grades.

Insta: @teach4tamara
Website: Teach 4 Tamara

Trinity

Bio: (she/her/ella) is a multidisciplinary artist and innovative cultural leader. She has hosted television shows, sang and acted on Broadway, leveraged a multi-million-dollar marketing start-up, released a hiphop album, and founded a charter school’s arts integration + culture department. Current titles: Executive Director of Public Art Reston, Artist in Residence for the Institute of Anti-Racist Education, CoFounder of Mixt Collective, and the Creative Lead for the Tales from the 202 podcast. She sits on various boards such as the National Art Education Association, Indiana University’s Singing Hoosiers Alumni Council, and is the Past President of Art Education DC. She loves to explore and revisit hobbies- as she paints murals, spins Māori fire poi, plays classical piano, and is now even diving into culinary experiences with her chef partner. They live in DC with her amazingly creative son. Instagram: @tara_trinityyyyy

Anjali

Bio: Anjali received her Bachelor's in Studio Art and Masters of Art Education from the University of Maryland, College Park. Anjali also has a Post Graduate Certificate in Equity and Excellence in Education from McDaniel College. Anjali is the PreK-12 Visual Art and Dance Content Specialist for Montgomery County Public Schools’ department of Curriculum and Instructional Programs. In addition to working as a highly qualified educator for MCPS, Anjali has worked with multiple community organizations to develop and implement arts education programs that focus on student wellbeing. In 2019 she worked as a contributor to the Smithsonian Freer Sackler Museum's Freeman project writing curriculum resources for the gallery’s Chinese art collection and continues on as a contributor in the Teaching China Program. Anjali has been recognized by the Maryland Art Education Association as a 2021 Career Art Educator of the Year for MCPS. Anjali currently serves as the President of Creative Outlets Art Center and Treasurer for the Maryland Art Education Association.
Web: CreativeOutletsAC.com Insta: @creativeoutletsartscenter

Reji

Bio: (she/hers) The expressive arts are central to my worldview, work, life, and social activism. I am an intermodal artist, thinker, educator, and neuroscience-informed psychotherapist. Thinking and working integratively are innate to my intellectual inquiry and creative art-making method. My therapeutic expressive arts philosophy is grounded in several core principles which comprise my approach to healing, teaching, and training. I am an Arts Accessiblity Activist. My therapeutic worldview is a narratology-narrative therapy lens. This intersects with a commitment to understanding the complex identities we hold including class, culture, location, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and accessibility. I begin my understanding of a person in the context of time, place, and culture.

Website: rejimathewphd-writer.com
Instagram: @rejimathewwriter
Email: rejimathewwriter@gmail.com
Youtube: Expressive Arts Therapy
Tumblr: Expressive Arts for Kids

Vernon

Bio: (he/him) Vernon is an artist/educator from Baltimore County, Maryland. He attended the Maryland Institute-College of Art where he earned his BFA in Visual Communications. He earned a BS in Art History and K-12 Certification at Towson University where he also received his Master of Art in Art Education.
Vernon currently teaches grades 6-8 in Baltimore County Public Schools. He also serves as adjunct professor with Towson University’s Art Education Department.
Vernon believes that it should be the art educator’s personal and professional responsibility to advocate for students and colleagues regarding issues related to the arts, including concerns about access, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Email - fainsv@gmail.comTwitter - @vee_artInstagram - @vern_f

Please note that we are full-time working art educators. We volunteer our time to develop this website & resources. As such, our time will be limited during the school year. Thank you!

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

We have led professional development sessions for various school districts and national organizations seeking to become more equitable and inclusive in their classroom practice. This includes workshops, presentations, consultations, keynote addresses, and more. In addition, we have participated in numerous podcasts, webinars, town halls, and more. If you are interested in more information on our professional development sessions, please email us at antiracistartteachers@gmail.com. Thank you!