UPCOMING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art & Illustration
https://www.botanicgardens.org/education/school-botanical-art-illustration

Watercolor 2 (check course schedule for required prerequisites)
Thursdays 1-4pm (online): January 8, 15, 22, 29 & February 5

Colored Pencil 2 (check course schedule for required prerequisites)
Wednesdays 1-4pm (online): March 4, 11, 18, 25 & April 1

Geometry in Nature
(in person - Freyer-Newman Center Denver Botanic Gardens)
Wednesdays 5-8pm: March 4, 11, 18, 25 & April 1

Color Layering
(in person - Freyer-Newman Center Denver Botanic Gardens)
Thursdays 1-4pm: March 5, 12, 19, 26 & April 2

Pen & Ink 1 (check course schedule for required prerequisites)
(in person - Freyer-Newman Center Denver Botanic Gardens)
Thursdays 5-8pm: March 5, 12, 19, 26 & April 2

Colored Pencil 1 (check course schedule for required prerequisites)
(in person - Freyer-Newman Center Denver Botanic Gardens)
Thursdays 1-4pm: April 16, 23, 30 & May 7, 14

Light on Form (check course schedule for required prerequisites)

(in person - Freyer-Newman Center Denver Botanic Gardens)
Thursdays 5-8pm: May 14, 21, 28 & June 4, 11

Intro to Perspective (check course schedule for required prerequisites)
Wednesdays 5-8pm (online): May 6, 13, 20, 27 & June 3

Bonsai in Pen & Ink
(in person - Freyer-Newman Center Denver Botanic Gardens)
Friday, Saturday, Sunday 9:30am-3pm: May 15-17

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN
Natural Science Illustration Program
https://cereg.risd.edu/public/category/courseCategoryCertificateProfile.do?method=load&certificateId=2088895

2026 Winter Session
(January 12-February 16)
The Artful Bird: Ornithological Illustration
Geometry in Nature

2026 Spring 1 Session
Illustration Studio: Reimagining Audubon
Rendering Realistic Raptors

2026 Spring 2 Session
Zoological Illustration: World of Mammals
Geometry in Nature
Illustrating Nature (teen program)

2026 Summer Session
The Artful Bird: Ornithological Illustration
Illustration Studio: Reimagining Audubon
Rendering Realistic Raptors
Illustrating Nature (teen program)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2023 – present
RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN
Natural Science Illustration Certificate Program Instructor

Develop & teach asynchronous courses online:

• The Artful Bird-Ornithological Illustration

• Geometry in Nature

• Zoological Illustration-World of Mammals

• Illustration Studio: Reimagining Audubon

• Rendering Realistic Raptors

• Illustrating Nature (youth program)

2016 – present
DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS SCHOOL OF BOTANICAL ART & ILLUSTRATION (Denver, CO)
Core Instructor

Develop & teach synchronous courses both on-site and online:
Core classes:

• Drawing in Pencil 1

• Pencil 2

• Pen & Ink 1

• Pen & Ink 2

• Light on Form

• Introduction to Perspective

• Composition

• Color Layering

• Colored Pencil 1

• Colored Pencil 2

• Watercolor 2

Themed electives:

• Zoological Illustration at the Denver Zoo (field sketching)

• Plants & Insects

• Poppies in Pastel

• Drawing Alliums

• Cacti & Succulents in Mixed Media

• Dried Botanicals in Sepia Ink

• Exploratory Field Sketching

• Through the Lens-Wetland Grasses & Sedges

• Demystifying Linear Perspective

Media-focused electives:

• Mixed Media

• Colored pencil on wood

• Gouache

• Scratchboard

• Colored pencil

Artist-focused electives:

• In the Style of Georgia O’Keefe (mixed media)

• In the Style of Ernst Haeckel

• In the Style of Margaret Flockton (pen and ink/scratchboard)

2021 – 2023 SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
Professor of Foundation Studies

Developed & taught synchronous, in-person Foundations Studies courses:

• DRAW 100

• DRAW 101

Other duties:

• Member of the resource committee

• Led field sketching field trips around Savannah

• Initiated Foundations collaboration with Scientific Illustration Club - sketching field trip at Oatland Wildlife center

• Organized workshops and field trips specializing in perspective and combining traditional and digital techniques

2018 – 2020 Filoli Gardens (Woodside, CA) — Instructor

Developed & taught synchronous, in-person botanical illustration courses:

• Scratchboard

• Mixed Media

• Textures in Watercolor 1 & 2

• History of Botanical Illustration

2011 – 2015 ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN (Lakewood, CO)
Illustration Department Head, Assistant Professor of Foundations

Taught both online, hybrid and on-ground classes in the following subjects:

Foundations Art Courses:

• Drawing 1

• Drawing 2

• Visual Design 1

• Visual Design 2 (3D/Sculpture)

• Digital Image Making

• Life Drawing 1

• Life Drawing 2

• Perspective

Illustration Courses:

• Basic Illustration

• Mastering the Pencil

• Typography for Illustration 

Interior Design Courses:

• Architectural Rendering & Techniques

• Design Process & Planning

• Drafting

• Senior Design Project

• Special Use Design (Assisted Living Facilities)

• Interior Materials

• Intro to AutoCad

Department Head Responsibilities:

• Mentored faculty in setting up and facilitating the online classroom

• Performed classroom checks and faculty evaluations

• Hired and collaborated with content experts to develop curriculum for online Illustration courses 

• Offered  substantive feedback to students in the virtual classroom, and facilitated video critiques and virtual workshops to augment the asynchronous course content. 

• Served on committees to help evolve the Foundations Department offerings to ensure student success.

2010 – 2015 ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH, ONLINE DIVISION
Adjunct Professor, Art Foundations

Foundations Art Courses:

• Perspective Drawing

• Visual Communication

RELATED TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• Denver Audubon - Botanical Illustration workshop

• Kindness Yoga Center -Yoga Instructor

• Karma Yoga Center - Yoga Instructor

• Colorado Mountain Club - Basic Mountaineering School Assistant Instructor, Wilderness Trekking Assistant Instructor, Backcountry Ski Instructor

• Appalachian Mountain Club - Basic Wilderness Training Assistant Instructor, Backcountry Ski Instructor 

• Camp Favorite -(Cape Cod) Sailing and Windsurfing Instructor

• Girl Scout Troop Leader (Charlestown, MA)

• Community Boating (Boston, MA) - Volunteer Sailing Instructor, Co-leader Womens Racing Team

EDUCATION & TRAINING

• MFA in Illustration — University of Hartford, Hartford Art School

• MA in Illustration — Syracuse University

• Bachelors of Architecture — University of Tennessee, Knoxville

CERTIFICATIONS

• Science Illustration Masters Certificate — California State University, Monterey Bay 

• Natural Science Illustration Certificate — University of Washington

• Botanical Ilustration Certificate — Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art & Illustration

• Graphic Design/Web Design Certificate — Red Rocks College

• 500-hour Yoga and Meditation Teaching Certificate — Kindness Yoga/Konalani Yoga Ashram