teaching artists
At the Museum of Children's Art, our Teaching Artists (TAs) and Assistant Teaching Artists (ATAs) are central to our mission of bringing arts education programs to Bay Area schools and communities. MOCHA TAs have residencies in public and private schools, libraries, within our community, and at our Oakland based studio and gallery.
Antonia Moler
Antonia (she/her) is a teaching artist with over 15 years of experience helping young people discover their voice through art. Growing up near Boston, her love of creative expression started at an arts-focused high school and eventually led her to UMass Boston, where she earned a BA in Human Services. She believes every child deserves equitable access to the arts and strives to create welcoming spaces where students feel safe, supported, and free to share their stories. Her teaching is rooted in accessibility, often turning simple materials like cardboard into creative possibilities. Her artistic perspective centers on culture, identity, and community, shaped by her mother, Shaaron, and inspired by artists like Kandy Lopez, Bisa Butler, Brandan “BMike” Odums, Rose B. Simpson, and Roberto Lugo. Outside of teaching, Antonia stays grounded by getting outdoors and spending time with nature and wildlife.
Eileen Perez-Iglesias
Eileen Perez (she/her) born and raised in Oakland, California has had a lifelong interest in art. Eileen was heavily influenced by other artists in her family, like her grandfather, who was a musician in Cuba. Fascinated by creation, Eileen tends to switch mediums from textiles, to tattooing, to paint, and so many more. Eileen’s favorite artist is Coco Ezebuogo, who makes Afro surrealism art, which is the art styles she draws the most inspiration from.
Kaeli McLeod
Kaeli McLeod (she/they) is a Los Angeles-born-and-raised mixed media illustrator with a BFA in Illus. from California College of the Arts and Crafts. Their work is full of bold linework, vibrant color, and playful shape language, popping up in posters, prints, murals, maps, digital illustrations, zines, and whatever catches their eye! Kaeli prioritizes play in her practice and loves making art that sparks joy, a giggle, or a little mischief. Her work is often inspired by nostalgia, California living, queer culture, and the wonderfully weird of street art. Since 2024, Kaeli has been featured in 20+ shows and has created illustrations for the California Academy of Sciences, SF YMCA, SF Children and Nature, Stern Grove Festival, and more. Their favorite artist is always changing but right now they’re especially inspired by Alexander Calder’s curious creature mobiles and circus figurines.
London Padgett
London Padgett (she/her) from Hayward, California is currently a student at Chabot College. As a child, she was very fortunate to have both an art teacher mom and grandma. London started as a MOCHA kid and has now become a MOCHA Teaching Artist. When it comes to creativity, her grandma has never shut down an idea and that has influenced her art because now she is a mixed media and abstract painting artist. London loves all forms of art, but enjoys teaching mixed media because MOCHA students always surprise her with their amazing creativity. She teaches at MOCHA because she want to give kids the experience with art that she had and to give them a safe place to create and express themselves.
Marco Garcia, M.F.A
Marco Garcia (he/him) is an Oakland-based visual artist. He holds a B.F.A. from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Garcia holds a M.F.A. from California College of the Arts. Marco's practice spans across drawing, painting, soft sculpture, installation, dance, performance and fashion design.
Ariel Goldman, M.F.A.
Ariel Goldman (she/her) Walnut Creek, California home. Her arts education includes a Bachelor’s degree in painting and drawing from California College of Arts and a Master’s degree in animation from the Academy of Art University. When Ariel practices art, she focuses on painting and drawing, sewing and textiles, and illustration. She prefers painting with oils because she loves the creamy texture of oil paint and the way the paint can create layers that glow from within. She often paints portraits and so Frida Kahlo is one of her favorite artists as Kahlo’s portraits are honest, lovely, and powerful. When teaching art, one of Ariel’s favorite projects is drawing to music; It’s wonderful to see students connecting with music in a visual way that they wouldn’t have expected.
Jill McLennan, M.F.A.
Jill McLennan (she/her) grew up in Providence, RI, and Chilmark, MA, where she developed a love for the urban and the natural. She attended Hampshire College in MA, with a focus on Painting, Drawing, Art History and Natural Science. After college, She went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she earned her Master’s in Art Education and Teacher Certification. McLennan's art practice explores the environment through drawing, painting, and linoleum block prints. Currently, she is inspired by exhibitions of work by Kehinde Wiley, Wangechi Mutu and Jaune Quick-to-see Smith. Her art lessons teach technique while emphasizing curiosity and are inspired by living artists from cultures around the world. As both an artist and a teacher, she is deeply invested in protecting urban nature, inspiring our youth, and spreading hope and joy in the world.
Kaya Fortune
Kara “Kaya” Fortune (he/him) born in Oakland, California and raised in Compton, California. Fortune attended UCLA where he received a B.A. and later went to Otis Art Academy. He has been working as a Teaching Artist at MOCHA for more than 30 years. His current position at MOCHA is Director of Curation and Culture Keeping. He believes that art for children transcends the difficulties in their lives and acts as a healing force. He teaches to inspire, ignite, and challenge his students to find their own identity. Fortune is a visual artist whose art represents African-American history, music, and visual arts as well as spiritual and social concepts. John Outterbridge was one of Fortune's primary artist inspirations as a young artist. Outterbridge's mixed media and found object works helped create a style called Assemblage. As a youth working with Outterbridge, Fortune was inspired to research artists and develop his own artistic style.
Lucía Joseph
Lucía Joseph (she/her/ella) is very loudly proud to have been born and raised in Oakland, CA. She got her B.A. in Communication Design, Art, and Art History from WashU in St. Louis in 2026 and is now starting her post-graduate career as a Teaching Artist at MOCHA. She grew up going to MOCHA's open studios and now strives to enable other children to recognize the artist within themselves like she was able to. Lucía feels most at-peace when she paints—whether in oil, watercolor, or ink. Her painting practice is a form of meditation and a way of understanding the world around her. If she had to choose a favorite artist, it would be abstract painter Maria Helena Vieira da Silva for her depictions of space and scattered light. Truly, though, Lucía is most inspired by all of the artists around her—her younger brother, dad, grandmother, and dear friends—for the dedication each one shows to their own art practice.
Maxine Tillotson
Maxine Tillotson (she/they) born and raised in Oakland, California. Growing up as a MOCHA kid, Max developed an early love for all things art and creation. That curiosity led them to the Visual Art department at Oakland School for the Arts, where they explored an expansive range of mediums and techniques, many of which shape their artistic and teaching practices today. Max went on to study History of Art and Visual Culture with a focus in Museum Curation at the University of California, Santa Cruz. During their time at UCSC, they discovered a passion for education while working on the campus farm, where they taught lessons connecting nature, art, and creative exploration. Their current favorite artist is Brazilian Surrealist Tuco Amalfi, whose ethereal landscapes evoke distant memories and dreamlike worlds. Amalfi’s work inspires Max to approach their own creative process with more playfulness and imagination.
Danielle Zorn
Danielle Zorn (she/her) is an artist and educator originally from Norwalk, Connecticut, with degrees in Art History and Studio Art from the College of Charleston. With more than 25 years of experience as a working artist and teacher, Danielle is passionate about making art accessible, engaging, and fun for children and families. Her artistic practice includes working with clay, glass, and wood, allowing her to explore creativity through texture, shape, color, and form. Danielle especially enjoys creating opportunities for young artists to experiment, make discoveries, and express themselves through art. One of her favorite artists is Bisa Butler, whose vibrant use of color, pattern, and textiles inspires Danielle. Through her work at MOCHA, Danielle hopes to help young people build confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong connection to the arts.
Jocelyn Jones
Jocelyn V. Jones (she/her) born and raised in Berkeley, California. In the year 2009, Jocelyn graduated cum laude from San Francisco State University, where she earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Cinema and Fine Arts, focusing on Film Production and Painting & Drawing. For the past ten years, Jocelyn has shared her artistic skills in schools and art centers across the East Bay, collaborating with esteemed institutions such as Mocha, Richmond Art Center, Junior Center of Art & Science, and Kala Art Institute. Since 2018, she has proudly served as a Teaching Artist with MOCHA, currently inspiring the minds of Tk-8th graders in Alameda, California. Jocelyn holds a deep admiration for the iconic artist Frida Kahlo. She is particularly moved by Kahlo's courageous vulnerability in expressing and portraying her physical struggles, as well as her unwavering determination to amplify her voice as an artist, even when confined to her bed. Kahlo's spirit ignites in Jocelyn a fervent desire to create art, regardless of the limitations imposed by accessibility or resources.
Lisa Krones-Whalen
Lisa Krones-Whalen (she/her) was born in Oakland and grew up in El Cerrito where she was encouraged at an early age artistically by her grandfather, who made his living as an oil painter and commercial artist. Her family moved to Berkeley for her high school years where she took a ceramics class that inspired her to see that art could come in many different forms. Lisa continued her education and received a B.A. in Psychology from SF State University. Creating art has always been Lisa’s driving passion, so through the years she has explored many different techniques and mediums. One pivotal point in her career was the opportunity to work as an art assistant at Sierra Elementary School where she discovered she loved working with children. While raising her daughter with her husband Bob she volunteered every week doing art projects in her daughter’s classrooms, which eventually led her to Rosa Parks Elementary School where she worked for many years teaching art. She was very excited for the opportunity to join with MOCHA and to be able to again share her passion for art to children and their parents in the library program. Lisa has experienced firsthand the impact arts education has on children. In third grade she did a report about Vincent Van Gogh, which made such an impression that he is still one of her favorite artists
LuzMarina Tovar
LuzMarina (she/her) is from Oakland, California. LuzMarina graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, in Boston, with a B.F.A. in Metals Art. She has also studied jewelry and metalsmithing in London, England, in her native South America, in Colorado Springs, and in California. She has designed and manufactured her own jewelry line, as well as showing her work in art galleries. LuzMarina Tovar has been a professional artist and arts educator for over 20 years. Some of her professional experience includes: the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) as Early Childhood Education Coordinator, Little Studio Manager, and bilingual Teaching Artist, Otis Elementary School Artist in Residence, Edna Brewer Middle School Art Program Guest Teaching Artist, Peralta Elementary Teaching Artist and the creation of Artree Studio, a home based art studio offering children and families a space to explore the beautiful and intricate world of the arts. LuzMarina’s international and diverse experience gives her a broad perspective and an unique approach to making and creating art. She is a dedicated artist, mother, and proud resident of the City of Oakland.
Meera Desai, M.F.A.
Meera Desai (she/her), San Francisco native, is an artist, teacher, and proud mom of two boys. In the last 30 years, she has painted and facilitated over 25 public and community murals around the Bay Area. Meera happened to fall into mural making when she volunteered to help on one at a local residential mental health facility. From there, the seed was planted, and she continues to enjoy adding vibrancy and color to the urban world around us. She obtained grants and awards for her murals such as a Creative Work Fund for her collaboration with the Asian Women’s Shelter in San Francisco. Since earning her M.F.A. in Painting in 1996, Meera has taught art to people of all ages at public schools, colleges and libraries. One of Meera's favorite artists is sculptor Anish Kapoor.
Meghan McLean, M.P.S.
Meghan (she/her) was born in a small house on the top of a hill in Hayward, California. She grew up immersed in the arts, attending non-traditional elementary and middle schools that encouraged hands-on learning and student-driven education. She earned her B.A. in Creative Writing at San Francisco State, and later an M.P.S. in Publishing from George Washington University. Over the years she has taught kids and adults the joy of exploring their curiosity through creativity. Lisa Congdon is one of Meghan’s favorite artists, as Lisa’s bold use of imagery, inspiring messaging, and bright colors sparks a sense of wonder that reminds Meghan of the joy of being a child. Meghan has recently also been inspired by the work of Brazilian artist João Incerti and his use of pattern and connection to nature.
Michelle Cuevas
Michelle (she/her) was born the coast of Mexico but was raised in Oakland, CA for most of her life. At an early age she found a passions for the arts. This passion has followed her into adulthood as she now explores portraiture, calligraphy, print making and illustration. Inspired by graphic arts, pop-art and traditional mediums of art, she attempts to bring them all together to create a blend of all that calls to her.
Samantha Cuevas
Samantha Cuevas (she/her) born and raised in Oakland, California and was an intern at MOCHA before being employed as an MPA. Samantha graduated from Oakland High School in 2023, and was in the Visual Arts Academy and Media Production (VAAMP) pathway. Through VAAMP, she was introduced to various art forms such as fine arts, photography and graphic design. She's grown a particular love for collage art, as it takes materials that are accessible to anyone and can allow her to have fun and be as creative as possible even while using "basic" materials. Since childhood, Samantha's favorite artist has been her older sister Michelle, who she felt inspired by as she watched her get into multiple new art obsessions. It's always allowed for art to be part of her life and to learn that in art you can always learn something new. Samantha's passion for working with kids at MOCHA has translated to furthering her own education to teach young minds, and is currently studying at Berkeley City Collage for a Teacher Preparation Associate in Arts Degree.
Stephanie Peth
Stephanie Peth (she/her) is a proud San Jose, California native. Stephanie’s passion for the arts started very early in her childhood with drawing and crafting daily. Her second passion is being an educator, knowing by the age of 8 that this was her career goal. Now she has a dream job of doing two things that she loves: making art and teaching! As a MOCHA Teaching Artist, her approach to teaching is playful, approachable, and easily relatable to students of all ages. Stephanie, who is truly a kid at heart, draws her inspiration and happiness from artists that have produced iconic characters of her youth: Hello Kitty (created by Yuko Shimizu), Mickey Mouse (created by Ub Iwerks), and tokidoki (created by Simone Legno).
Tiffany Yang
Bio coming soon
Tammy Artis
Tammy Artis (she/her) grew up in Hayward, California in a family who are very nature oriented, growing their own fruits and vegetables, and spending much of their time camping, fishing, and diving on the northern California coast. Tammy was introduced to art at a young age and by age 5 had dreams of becoming an artist. Tammy attended Delta College taking art courses while volunteering as an Art Docent at Tokay Colony Elementary School. She opened Art & Soul studio in Berkeley, joined the Firehouse Art Collective and began doing murals with themes of social justice, equity health, and wellness. Teaching and sharing her art in communities that lack resources has been an important part of her journey, and it brought her to MOCHA, where she has been a Teaching Artist for 10 years. Currently, Tammy is the Museum Programs Supervisor which consists of developing curriculum for Open Studio and Art Parties along with mentoring beginning teaching artists. Her favorite artists include architect, Zaha Hadid, Frida Kahlo, and Georgia, O’Keeffe, whose flowing forms and symmetry are very appealing to her. She is drawn to surrealism, cubism and futurism, and loves to incorporate recyclables and found objects into her art.
Assistant Teaching Artists
Keyaisha Garth
Keyaisha Garth (she/her) born in Wisconsin and raised in Tennessee. Keyaisha has the highest education achievement of a high school diploma from the school Oakland School for the Arts. She majored in the visual arts department and currently does a lot of multimedia art but primarily acrylic paint works. She is a great food artist and uses a lot of great color theory in her pieces. Her inspiration artist is an artist named Alaiganuza who currently sells prints, manages online art courses, and show cases their work. This is Keyaisha's favorite artist due to the similar love and interest in food and color theory. She also hopes to become like her in some way in the future.
Liliya Silva
Bio coming soon