Jess Axelrad, M.Ed.
Jess Axelrad has 20 years of international and domestic experience in working with children and adults in various languages (including Spanish and American Sign Languages), as an Educator of Art and English. She is a certified K-12 Art Teacher in the State of Colorado, where she has developed and implemented art curriculums with district aligned standards and assessments for grades K-6 for at-risk, gifted, deaf and hard of hearing, and developmentally and physically challenged students. Jess has also presented, evaluated and created art curriculum, programs and events for art teachers, museum, artists, volunteers, schools and community organizations. Currently, she is teaching art online to public school kids, and on the leadership teams for Colorado Arts Education Association (CAEA) and Douglas County School District (DCSD).
Mike Caroll, MA
Mike has been a professional artist since the age of 16 and a professional educator since the year 2000. He graduated from the University of Denver with both his BFA in Sculpture and MA in Education. In 2011 he was honored with the award of “Elementary Art Educator of the Year” for the state of Colorado.
Mike has a lifetime of experience with children with special needs, both in his immediate family and in his teaching career, and is an advocate for those populations. Mike currently teaches elementary art in the Jefferson County Public School system and has many years serving CAEA as an officer on the Executive Council.
Mike believes that he could not do half the things he does without the support of his wife, Suzanne, and two sons, Layton and Brendan. He is also blessed to have friends that share the same passion and dreams in our artistic and community building endeavors.
Together, Mike is convinced, "we are going to change the world."
Lindsey Ott
For the last 10 years, Lindsey has been teaching Art and STEM in Douglas County Public Schools (DCSD). She also serves the chair of the Art Leadership Committee that coordinates, organizes and fundraises the K-12 DCSD Art Show. Each year the Show showcases over 3600 student art work, where students have won cash prizes and scholarships.