2023 PAEA Award Honorees

OutStanding art educator of the year

Lisbeth Bucci

Adjunct Associate Professor, 

Supervisor of Student Teachers, 

MAT Art Education Program,

University of the Arts

Over the past 35 years, Lisbeth Bucci has been an art educator in both public and private settings, teaching visual art to students in grades K–12 and arts integration to higher education preservice students. For over 20 years, she was a K–12 visual art curriculum coordinator and hiring advisor in public education. Lisbeth currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Art Education Department, School of Art + Design, and also as Supervisor of Student Teachers in the MAT program at the University of the Arts.

Lisbeth has been an ambassador of the Pennsylvania Art Education Association since 2010 and continues to exemplify the duties of authentic leaders. For the past decade she has dedicated herself to molding the next generation of art educators in her academic roles at the University of the Arts and West Chester University. Before her move into collegiate mentorship, Lisbeth was a Visual Arts Teacher at Garnet Valley High School from 1977-1979 and then again from 1989-2011.

Lisbeth believes that every classroom should be a safe and caring space. She has learned that experimentation, discovery, and choice provide a great capacity to empower a student’s curiosity and imagination. In education and in life, Lisbeth will always strive to be an asset, and never a liability. Whether advancing Pre-Service students, schoolchildren, or simply spending time with her beautiful grandchildren, Lisbeth’s heart is always open and will nurture each individual as if they were her own.

Outstanding Middle-level art educator

Pam Harrison

Peters Township School Middle School, 

Peters Township School District 

One of my favorite childhood memories is of digging through discarded items at a  junkyard just over the hill from my house. To some it was useless junk, but to me it was  treasure - a seemingly endless supply of interesting and peculiar materials that were just waiting to reveal their new purpose to the world. The creative process of figuring out that purpose was magic. Today my creative pursuits are integrated into every facet of my professional and personal life,, from creating my own art to the making of my home, my classroom, my curriculum, my professional development, and volunteer activities. 

My Master of Fine Arts experience at Edinboro University and my professional  development through the AEC leadership academy were instrumental in expanding my  leadership roles in both my educational and artistic communities. I have presented at  conferences and workshops, served on conference committees, and collaborated virtually and in-person with other art professionals across the country. Locally, I serve  as an art department facilitator, arranging and facilitating professional development,  coordinating art events and volunteer activities, and developing extracurricular programs  like “The Young Entrepreneurs,” which extends students' creative education beyond the walls of the art classroom. As an art educator, I strive to help students see the world through their own creative lens and to find joy and adventure in the act of creating. 

Outstanding Supervision and administration art educator

Alyssa Marie Ogiony Roscoe

Adjunct Instructor/Internship Field Supervisor,

Temple University, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, 

Department of Art Education and Community Arts Practices 

Alyssa grew up in New Hope, Pennsylvania at a time when it was a small artist community on the Delaware River. Her surroundings amidst trees, fields, artists, and musicians set the stage for her to follow the path of realizing her artistic spirit. Born the youngest (and quietest) in a family of big personalities, she found visual communication the most truthful and most efficient way to communicate in a world she saw as full of noise and competition.

Alyssa trained as an artist at Bucks County Community College and the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. She also became certified as a teacher through the Art Education program at Tyler School of Art. Upon graduation she began teaching art at Norristown Area School District, and became connected to a community that needed to discover how much talent and potential they had.

After exploring the world and following her artistic path, Alyssa has developed into an inspiring artist, an art educator, an arts advocate, and an art-minded mother. When her own children were young, during the ages when creativity abounds, she decided to pause her teaching practice and spend time focusing on their well-being and development. Not fully abandoning her work in art education, she began supervising student teachers. At the same time, she worked on painting commissions while home with her young children.

There is nothing more inspirational for an artist than to witness a young child’s direct and unfiltered connection to their own creativity and expression. It is this inherent and uninhibited creativity in youth that fuels Alyssa’s mission to bring young people and adults alike towards their own specific artistic voice. Her life’s work is to inspire confidence that anyone can communicate and understand universal truths by making, viewing, and sharing art. Through sharing her own art and also teaching and making art side-by-side with youth, she has a firm grasp on her belief that the artist spirit can come in many forms. 

Outstanding board service 

Outstanding new Professional educator

Em Jensen

Martin Luther School, 

Approved Private School

Jensen (she/her) is an educator, artist, and comedic performer based in Philadelphia, PA. She currently teaches at Martin Luther School in Plymouth Meeting. MLS is an approved private school for students in need of added behavioral and emotional support. There, she focuses on a STEAM curriculum, adapting aspects of the Engineering Design Process to fit the needs of her special population of students. Em takes this unique opportunity to make cross-curricular connections within her lessons, and focuses on building confidence and critical thinking skills in order to give her students the agency they need to succeed outside of school. Within her pedagogy as well as her own research and art-making practices, Em explores the concept of humor’s place in art and art education. 

Outstanding Secondary art educator

Robb Bomboy

Cumberland Valley High School, 

Cumberland Valley School District 

Robb Bomboy is a media arts teacher from Boiling Springs, PA and the Chair of the Media Arts Coalition of Educators. He is the Pennsylvania representative and a framing committee member of the National Coalition of Arts Standards (NCAS) Media Arts Committee, and has provided NCAS with student examples for benchmarking. He was a pilot team member for the Media Arts MCAs (Model Cornerstone Assessments). and has written online professional development courses in Media Arts for SEADEA. He is also the owner of Little DaVinci Art Classes, an after school art program serving schools in Central Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Robb is an adjunct faculty at Messiah College, where he teaches digital media, and a teacher of media arts courses at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, PA. Previously, he was an online course developer and adjunct instructor of Humanities at Harrisburg Area Community College. 

Robb serves as Art and Media Technology Interest Group Chair on the PAEA Board of Directors.  He has previously served PAEA as Regional Co-Rep, Pennsylvania Youth Art Month Chair, and twice as State Conference Co-Chair.

Robb’s artwork is exhibited at Metropolis Collective in Mechanicsburg, PA.  He creates wood sculpture, photography, film, and 3D printed sculpture. 

Outstanding higher education Art educator

Sue Uhlig

Ph.D. Candidate in Art Education from at The Pennsylvania State University

Limited term lecturer, Purdue University

Sue Uhlig is a Ph.D. candidate in Art Education at Penn State University, where she has served as supervisor for student teachers in art education, and has taught classes in art and art education. Sue also is a limited term lecturer at Purdue University, and teaches distance learning classes in art appreciation. 

Originally from the near-west suburbs of Chicago, Sue’s first years in teaching were spent in both public and private institutions in Chicago and its suburbs as an elementary classroom teacher and elementary art teacher. She also has experience in museum education, and she has led or participated in several study abroad trips, including a Fulbright Hays trip to Morocco and Tunisia. 

Sue has presented at conferences at the state, national, and international levels, and has authored and co-authored journal publications and book chapters. Areas of research interest include research-creation, collections and material culture, sensory studies, and assemblage art, which she addresses in her research-based art and art residencies. 

Service to the field is important to Sue, and she has served as faculty advisor for the Purdue Student National Art Education Association, the membership chair of the Art Education Association of Indiana, and the president of the Graduate Art Education Association at Penn State. Sue Uhlig is the current Region 4 representative for PAEA. 

Outstanding emeritus art educator 

Outstanding Elementary art educator

Karen Rufino

Rowen Elementary, 

School District of Philadelphia 

Karen Rufino is a passionate multi-lingual art educator who has been teaching within the School District of Philadelphia for the past 14 years. She began her career teaching grades K-8 at Pan American Academy Charter School. Presently, she is in her third year teaching at Rowen Elementary, a K-5 elementary school. Her focus in art education is to amplify the voices of her students while encouraging divergent learning and critical thinking skills through art making. 

Karen’s passion for education has carried her into other roles at her schools such as mentoring fifth and eighth grade students for their International Baccalaureate Presentations, creating a student-designed mural and running after-school clubs with visiting artists. Additionally, she has participated in the Racial Equity Team at her school and has always found ways to coordinate student-led fundraising and collaborative school beautification activities. Karen is committed to doing work that creates community and cultural connection at every one of her schools. 

Karen has presented workshops for teachers at the district level for the School District of Philadelphia, and at the national level through EduCon and NAEA. She not only mentors students, but also mentors teachers both at her school and within the school district. 

Karen earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The San Francisco Art Institute. She is a lifelong learner, and along with ever-seeking professional development opportunities she has recently completed her master’s degree in Art Education through Eastern Illinois University. 

Karen is a mother of two, and can be found hiking, biking, and running in her downtime. She is a devoted parent and volunteers endlessly for her own children's activities. With her master’s degree completed, she is looking forward to getting back into more personal art making.

Outstanding art in special education award 

Tara Drissel (they/them)

Pine Road Elementary School, 

Lower Moreland Township School District

Tara Drissel is a passionate art educator with a love of teaching and empowering students to think critically and express themselves through artistic practices. Growing up as a student with a disability, Tara has experienced both disheartening and empowering ways teachers can influence a student’s ability to succeed. 

Currently, Tara is a K-5 elementary art educator at Pine Road Elementary School in the Lower Moreland School District. In 2022, Tara completed their MA in Art Education with an Emphasis in Inclusive Practices at Moore College of Art and Design. Tara’s thesis was titled: Addressing Confidence in Elementary Art by Modifying Language We Use About Abilities. Tara has presented this work at the PAEA 2022 State Conference and is currently working to expand this research further to share with their colleges locally and through future PAEA and NAEA conferences. 

Tara’s artistic practices outside of teaching focus on a personal exploration of identity and disability through natural and anatomical forms in order to express hope and challenges in navigating neurodiversity and physical disability. Tara also enjoys singing and participating in concerts benefiting local and state-wide agencies serving the community.

Outstanding museum educator

Brandi Breslin

Director of Education & Visitor Engagement, 

Palmer Museum of Art, 

Penn State University 

Brandi Breslin has been the Director of Education at the Palmer Museum of Art since 2018. Prior to assuming this position, she served as a museum educator at the University of Florida’s Harn Museum of Art from 2002-2018. Breslin is responsible for designing and managing museum programs that engage a diverse array of audiences, including faculty and students at Penn State, preK-12 students and educators, families and children, volunteer groups, and community members. She also collaborates with museum staff, faculty, and other educators to develop in-gallery interpretive strategies and digital content, and she leads a team of graduate assistants and undergraduate interns who contribute remarkable talent, skills, and dedication to supporting museum exhibitions and programs. 

In 2018, Breslin’s book “ABC: Art by the Letter” was published in conjunction with an exhibition and multi-dimensional program to engage more than 500 pre-K visitors in an art museum experience. This project exemplifies Breslin’s dedication to the belief that art and museums are for everyone.

Outstanding Friend to art education