NAEA Advocacy Committee

Meet the New NAEA Advocacy Committee!

At the 2024 NAEA Delegates Assembly, a new standing committee was approved to begin work on a National Arts Education Advocacy strategy as detailed in Pillar 4 of NAEA’s Strategic Vision. After careful consideration and a competitive application process, NAEA has selected the 11 members of the 2024–2025 Advocacy Committee.

The NAEA Advocacy Committee will support the mission and vision of NAEA by contributing to the development of a national advocacy strategy, including tools and training modules, that can evolve over time to meet the needs of visual arts, design, and media arts educators. The Committee is also informed by the new recommendations from the Art Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force.

The Advocacy Committee is led by NAEA Southeastern Region Vice President Joshua Drews and NAEA Pacific Region Vice President–Elect Mark Graham.

Joshua Drews, Chair
NAEA Southeastern Region Vice President;
High School Art Educator
Columbia, SC

Mark Graham, Associate Chair
NAEA Pacific Region Vice President–Elect;
Professor, Brigham Young University
Provo, UT

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NAEA Advocacy Committee Members:

Reilly Powers
Undergraduate Student, Miami University
Oxford, OH

Amanda Galbraith
Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN

Nancy Walkup
Emerita Editor in Chief, SchoolArts Magazine
Santa Fe, NM

Natalie C. Jones
Vice President of Creative Education, Brookgreen Gardens
Murrells Inlet, SC

James Andrews
Artist, Andrews Fine Art;
Fine Art and CTE Art Instructor, North Kitsap High School;
Advocacy Chair, Washington Art Education Association
Silverdale, WA

Kat Crowner
Art Teacher, Albert Einstein Academy
Media, PA

Jennifer Appelfeller
Art Teacher, Lancaster City Schools Thomas Ewing and General Sherman Junior High;
President-Elect, Art in Special Education;
Secretary, OAEA
Lancaster, OH

Barbara Laws
Policy Chair/Legislative Liaison, Virginia Coalition for Fine Arts Education
Norfolk, VA

Michelle Ridlen
Art Teacher, Francis Howell Central High School
St. Charles, MO