Born and raised in Athens, Loleeta Linston-Jones has been a teacher and mentor to students at Howard B. Stroud Elementary for the last 25 years. She graduated from Cedar Shoals High School before going on to Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama where she received her degree in education. A proud member of Delta Sigma Theta…
Tara Stuart
Tara Stuart was born in Jefferson City, MO but grew up in the Florida Panhandle in the town of Marianna, where she graduated from Marianna High School. She studied at the University of West Florida because it was close to a beach and then, after coming to visit friends in Athens and falling in love…
Nicole Bechill
Raised on a palm tree farm in Jupiter, Florida, Nicole Bechill was on a creative path from early on. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, Nicole explored the United States, living in Nevada and Hawaii along the way. She finally landed in Athens with her then-boyfriend, now husband, Jason,…
Sierra Kirsche
Born and raised in Athens and Watkinsville, ceramicist and art teacher Sierra Kirsche was homeschooled until attending high school at Westminster Christian Academy in Watkinsville, where her mother was a teacher. Upon taking a ceramics class at Good Dirt with her mother her senior year, Sierra was inspired to follow an artistic path. She attended…
Noelle Shuck
Noelle Shuck was born on Maui, Hawaii. At 6 years old, she moved with her mother to Atlanta until 4th grade, when they moved to Athens. After graduating from Clarke Central High School, Noelle received her bachelor’s degree in graphic design at UGA. After leaving The Adsmith, where she worked for 8 years, Noelle took…
Dr. Cecilia Herles
Cecilia Herles, who was born in New Jersey, grew up between New Jersey and England, where her father moved the family for work. After graduating from high school, she moved to South Carolina and attended Clemson University, where she studied English and Philosophy. She spent a year living in Atlanta before moving to Athens to…
Carole Black
Carole was born and raised in Charlotte, NC and attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Science. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Computer Science from DePaul University in Chicago. As she was preparing to change careers she…
Dr. Eunice Kang
Eunice Kang was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. Her parents and her older sister are first generation immigrants from Korea. Eunice started playing piano when she was eight and took up the cello in middle school. She earned a B.M. in Cello Performance from Indiana University Bloomington and a master’s degree from the University…
Life The Griot
Life The Griot was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He came to Atlanta as a teenager and then to Macon, GA, where he graduated from Southwest High School. He attended Gordon State College in Barnesville, GA, then the University of Georgia, where he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work. A poet and…
Christine Graziano
Meet Christine Graziano! Christine is an art teacher at Whit Davis Elementary School on Athens’ Eastside. She grew up in Willmette, IL and Tewsbury, NJ, part of a big family, and found art as a way to differentiate herself among her siblings and find a path all her own. Christine studied art and education at…