Jonathan Juravich began teaching art to students in elementary grades near Columbus, Ohio, in 2005, and continues to teach art to young students. His personal and professional focus is the importance of social and emotional learning in the daily lives of young children. This is his topic for research and presentation, including his PhD dissertation, his TED Talk How Do We Teach Empathy?, the limited series podcast The Art of SEL, and his Emmy award-winning drawing program Drawing with Mr. J. In 2018, Juravich was named Ohio Teacher of the Year, and was one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year. In 2023, he was named the National Elementary Art Teacher of the Year by the National Art Education Association and the 2024 Ohio Art Educator of the Year. He lives with his family in Columbus, Ohio.
Summer Brown is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she majored in drawing and painting in the College of Fine Arts. She received her master's degree in museum exhibition planning and design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brown has worked at Staples & Charles, Ltd. as an exhibit designer; Hargrove Inc. as a special events and exhibit designer; the United States Center of Military History as a curatorial assistant; the National Library of Medicine as an exhibition coordinator; and the Washington Latin Public Charter School and the Children's Guild as an art teacher. She is an adjunct lecturer at Prince George’s Community College and teaches classes at Howard University as master instructor. Brown is still a very active practitioner in her craft as she paints, draws, and exhibits her work frequently. She received a regional Emmy Award for art direction for the short film Vote.
Clara Lieu is the founder of Art Prof Projects LLC, an online educational platform for learning about the visual arts. She spent sixteen years in academia as an adjunct instructor, teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, Wellesley College, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and Lesley University. For seven years she taught at the Rhode Island School of Design's Project Open Door, an art program for under-served teens in Providence public schools. Lieu has written for the New York Times, lectures widely, and provided expertise on articles for National Public Radio's Weekend Edition and for the Washington Post. Recently she appeared on an episode of The Nature of Things, a Canadian television series of documentary programs. Lieu has been awarded grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and the Puffin Foundation. Her work has been exhibited at the International Print Center New York, the Danforth Museum of Art, the Currier Museum of Art, and the Davis Museum and Cultural Center.
