Angela Cooper Visual Arts: Origami, Interior and Exterior Mural Creation, Relief and 3-D Sculpture, Printmaking
Angela Cooper is a professional exhibiting artist, muralist, and teaching artist with a degree in Graphic Design. She has has worked with K-12 students, adult continuing education, and professional development workshops for teachers. Her K-12 residencies have included lessons built around Picasso, Kahlo, Monet, origami, tessellations and geometry, interior and exterior mural creation, relief and 3-D sculpture, puppetry construction, shadow puppet theater, mask-making, printmaking and bookmaking. Her approach is to set students up for those eye-opening moments as they interact with art and make personal connections to the art form. As she presents art forms through imaginative arts-integration exercises, students build bridges to and connect with art and art-making processes.
Chana Prince Music, Song Writing: Folk
As singer, songwriter, pianist, performer and entertainer and since the age of eight, Chana brings a wide range of experience from the world of music to the classroom. She understands the importance of directing children’s creative and musical energy from an early age which she fosters in her sessions. Chana incorporates the principles of songwriting, combining melody, rhythm, and rhyme that complement and connect to the literacy and music curricula. Students will use these skills as they engage in self-expression and discovery through music.
Chris Espinosa Theater: Improvisation
Chris has received his Teaching Artist Credential from Young Audiences. He has 20 years’ experience as a Teaching Artist and has presented over 100 residencies (2,000+ classroom hours). He also has 30 years’ experience on stage as an actor, writer, director, and producer. He uses improv comedy to sharpen creativity, develop critical thinking skills, and inspire students to write a narrative, an expository, or a script—and perform it.
Cindy Phillips Storytelling: Old tales: folktales, fairy tales, and wonder tales
Cindy is a teller of old tales: folktales, fairy tales, and wonder tales that come from long ago and far away. She is a storyteller, a librarian, and a life-long Arkansan. Listeners of all ages have enjoyed her storytelling for over a decade. She aims to enchant students with the ancient art of oral storytelling, recalling to them how our great-great-great-grandparents taught and entertained one another. Her stories are often participatory, and listeners are invited to sing, chant, provide sound effects, or otherwise play along. She and the students co-create the stories, strengthening their powers of focus, attention, and imagination. The sessions should result in smiles and laughter, a sense of wonder and curiosity about our world, and an interest in finding more stories.
Dr. I.J. Routen Music: Jazz
I.J. Routen received her MEd. And EdD. degrees from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her BM from the University of Southern California. She currently serves as the Fine Arts Coordinator in the Little Rock School District and is the Director of Voices Without Borders. Dr. Routen was inducted into the Arkansas Music Educators Association Hall of Fame as a teacher in 2010 and as an administrator in 2017. In June 2024, she was inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame. She uses music to foster collaboration, community, and an excitement for learning in students of all ages.
Jeri Hillis Visual Arts: Painting, Drawing
Jeri holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Arts from Hampshire College and a Masters of Fine Arts from the Cranebrook Academy of Art. Her fields of study include printmaking, painting (oil and watercolor), jewelry, ceramics, and mixed media. She is an active member of the Hot Springs visual arts community working as a teaching artist, exhibiting artist and gallery curator. Jeri currently works with students from ages 6 to adult creating prints, books, puppets, sculptures, landscapes and portraits. Her versatility allows for projects that can be individualized to fit a variety of subjects being taught in schools.
Kai Coggin Literature: Poetry, Creative Writing
Kai is a full-time poet and freelance writer born in Bangkok, Thailand, raised in Southwest Houston, and currently living in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As a former 9th and 10th grade English teacher, she took her students outside for poetry and drum circles on the lawn. Students helped build a life-size balcony and made aluminum-foil-wrapped yard stick swords for Romeo and Juliet. Ms. Coggin was Secondary Teacher of the Year for the Alief School District in Houston, TX. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Poetry and Creative Writing from Texas A&M University and her poems have been published in numerous literary journals and magazines.
Lanie Carlson Theater: Stage managing, Costumes
Lanie works in a magical space that encourages play and sparks a child’s imagination. She engages children in playing with stories, exploring how characters interact and react to each other and using costumes and props to help create a believable character. Her approach to theater is very hands-on and she expects students to actively participate in some way in the creation of stories and acting them out. Lanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and has worked for twenty-five years in various areas of early childhood. She has been involved in theater since the age of ten and has spent 30 years acting, directing, stage managing, creating props and costumes and recording and running lights and sound.
Maria Hoskins Literature: Storytelling
Maria Hoskins is a literary artist and children’s book author from Mayflower, Arkansas, known for her heartwarming holiday stories celebrating family, love, and faith. Since her debut, Christmas Night on the Farm (2014), she has published seven books through C & V 4 Seasons Publishing, including the award-winning Down Home in Arkansas: A Family Reunion Story. Her eighth book, Nothing Compares to a Mother’s Love (2026), continues her tradition of family-centered storytelling. Maria serves as Executive Director of Youth Advocate Resource Network, founder and coordinator of the Arkansas Authors’ Children’s Book Festival. Maria goal is to share her stories worldwide.
Patricia Carreras Storytelling, Theater: Puppetry, Dance
Patricia Carreras has been working professionally in all types of theater since 1985. She has an undergraduate degree in Theater and Film from the University of New York at Fredonia and a Masters in Art in Theater and Film from SUNY Buffalo.
She began her Teaching Artist work with the Western New York Institute for the Arts in Education in 1983. She has worked extensively with the Lincoln Center, the Wolf Trap Foundation out of Washington DC (Creative Early Learning) and the Kennedy Center. Patricia is also an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis where she teaches dance concepts to athletes and Ballroom Dancing to all. She is an independent artist who works as an actor/director/storyteller/ puppeteer/mime in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and Alaska. Every summer, Patricia is invited to join the TBA Theater Company of Anchorage Alaska as a guest director, teaching artist, and mime. Patricia has written many one-woman shows that incorporate mime, puppetry and storytelling. each holding an aesthetic experience for learning.
Her character, Giggling Gertie, is a favorite across the nation.
Ruthann Curry Theater: Improvisation
Ruthann Curry is a professional performer, director, and educator specializing in Acting, Shakespeare, Voice & Movement, Devising & Improvisation. She is an experienced teacher in all aspects of theatre with a strong focus in theatre arts training for youth. Her training and experience allows for diverse and focused work within the classroom no matter the grade or subject. Her unique ability to listen and connect with young people brings out the best in them.
Shannon Wurst Music: Singing / Song writing
Shannon Wurst is an award-winning folk and country songwriter who teaches storytelling through song to students ages 5 and up. Her workshops are hands-on and collaborative, often using nature as a creative spark. With seven albums and song placements in film, Shannon brings real-world experience to the classroom. She’s worked with the Arkansas Arts Council, I’ll Fly Away Foundation, and festivals across the region—helping students of all ages find their voice through rhyme, rhythm, and music.
Sue Pico Visual Arts: Multi-Disciplinary
Sue is a multi-disciplinary artist who has delivered impactful arts lessons to students of all age groups across the country. Her residencies encourage and empower students to feel confident in their artistic abilities. Her programs combine the arts with history, math, science, and literacy to create an impactful learning experience and introduce students to new concepts.
Taylor Moneagle Dance: Many styles including contemporary, modern, ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, lyrical, and hip-hop
Taylor Moneagle is the co-owner and instructor at Natural State Dance Company, located in Hot Springs, AR. Taylor fell in love with dance at an early age and grew up dancing competitively all over the U.S. She has also trained at various schools across the country such as the Washington Ballet, Ballet Austin, the Gus Giordano Summer Intensive, the Dance Teacher Summit in New York, and more. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and a minor in Exercise Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Taylor previously served as the adjunct dance instructor at Southern Arkansas University. She has over a decade of teaching and choreography experience and has won many awards regionally and nationally for choreography and competition team routines. Currently, Taylor is an adjudicator for Nexstar, Dance Machine, and Boogie Fever dance competitions. Taylor truly believes that dance can change a person’s life, and she is enthusiastic to share her passion with others!
Zinse Agginie Drumming, Multi-Disciplinary, Storytelling: Folk / Ethnic
A 2008 Governor’s Award winner (AIE), Zinse, was born and educated in Ghana, W. Africa and England. uses hand drums for his storytelling and also as a percussive symphony. Both the storytelling and rhythms support areas of the curriculum –social studies, history, geography and even basic mathematics. Participants are absorbed by the challenging rhythms and cannot help but focus and concentrate as they improve their general coordination. The activities engage fundamental cognitive and problem solving skills, nurturing creative thinking.