Webinar 2: Differentiation in Action

Amelia Kraehe

Assoc. Vice President for Organizational Excellence, Arizona Arts

Dr. Amelia Kraehe is an accomplished leader and researcher in the arts, culture and education with 25 years of experience in universities, public schools, and museums. She has been a part of the University of Arizona since 2018 and is currently the Associate Vice President for Organizational Excellence and Impact at Arizona Arts. A boundary-spanning scholar, Dr. Kraehe's writings, podcasts, public lectures, and workshops illuminate how sociocultural, economic, and political contexts influence the development of professional identities and capacity. She has published four books, including Race and Art Education (Davis Publications), and her work appears in peer-reviewed research journals in the arts and education. She has received numerous grants and professional honors, including the Manuel Barkan Memorial Award from the National Art Education Association for her scholarship dealing carefully and imaginatively with an important issue in the field and the Women of Impact Award from the University of Arizona for driving discovery, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community outcomes.

Julia Lang-Shapiro

Director of Media, Visual, & Performing Arts, Long Beach Public Schools

Julia Lang-Shapiro is the Director of Media, Visual, and Performing Arts for the Long Beach Public Schools. Now in her 30th year in education, Ms. Lang-Shapiro has been a steadfast advocate for arts education, creative expression, and equitable access to the arts for all students. She is the immediate past president and current professional development coordinator of the Art Supervisors Association, the At-Large Representative for Supervision and Administration in the National Art Education Association, a member of the Heckscher Museum Education Committee, and a grants reviewer for the New York State Council on the Arts. Ms. Lang-Shapiro has presented professional development sessions and hands-on artmaking workshops at the local, state, and national levels, including for SCOPE, The Balanced Mind Conference, the New York State Art Teachers Association (NYSATA), and the National Art Education Association (NAEA). As an exhibiting mixed-media artist, her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at the Heckscher Museum of Art, the Hillwood Art Museum, the Long Island Museum, and the Brooklyn Art Library, as well as at the Art League of Long Island, the Mills Pond House, the Huntington Arts Council, and East End Arts Gallery. She holds a B.A. in Art Studio, an M.S. in Education, and a Professional Diploma in School District Administration, all from LIU/C.W. Post.

Gino Molfino

Coordinator of Fine Arts, Howard County MD Public School System

Gino Molfino is an artist, educator, advocate, and leader who has served the Howard County Public School System in Maryland for over twenty-five years. Throughout his career, he has collaborated to develop state/national/district fine arts policies and practices that cultivated innovation in public education programming, curriculum development, and professional learning for educators that honor the teacher as an artist, and promote contemporary practices in art-making.