Aimee is a teaching artist. She grew up living in many different countries in Southeast and South Asia. After graduating high school on the Big Island of Hawaii, she moved to California to pursue studio art at UC Santa Cruz. Her pull toward education began as an outdoor educator working with edible gardening programs for children, but she decided to commit to art education specifically and obtained her MEd and art teaching credential at UC Santa Barbara. For her thesis, Aimee investigated the balance of structure and creative freedom when designing visual art curriculum, and this inquiry has sustained until this day. After graduate school, she returned abroad to teach in the international school system and worked at schools in Indonesia, Taiwan and most recently, China. Aimee is passionate about facilitating the process of self-discovery and creative expression in all her students and showcasing their artwork in student-curated exhibitions. In her own art practice, she enjoys Plein air painting and looks forward to painting the scenic areas close to campus.