• COURSES » register now »
• VIEW PROJECTS »
• COMMISSION US »

Creativity in Action for Adolescents

• LIST OF COURSES
• LOCATIONS
• TEACHING ARTISTS
• TUITION OR TRADE
• FAQ

Teaching Artists

Coyote’s teaching artists are professional artists, animators, chefs, music producers, welders, public artists, photographers, even lawyers and scientists.

They exhibit in art galleries, travel throughout the country or around the world, cook in elegant restaurants, hold mock trials in courtrooms, tour with their music, install public art statewide, and premiere their animations in theaters and film festivals.

Collectively they are an ideal corps of experienced teachers who know how to challenge adolescents to think for themselves and discover confidence in their own potential.

• Tarik Abdullah

  Tarik is a gifted chef who has presented pop up dinners fit for photo shoots and culinary publications. He is currently the lead chef at Cichetti, part of Serafina, featuring Mediterranean fare. He's been in the industry since 1989 at the Napa Valley Grill, Luna Park Cafe, Earth and Ocean, and Cirque de Soleil -- and now, Serafina. Enjoying working with kids since he was 19, he continues to carve out time to each whenever he can at community centers and special programs.
  
  

• Victor Alfonzo

  Victor has a historical perspective of the graffiti art form and its relationships to its cultural origins. He's been in several award winning hip hop arts groups as a visual artist, Bboy instructor, and break dancer. He has participated in the Hip Hop Handbook workshops where he's traveled the USA. Currently he is a member of the BYC crew, Soulshifter/Circle of Fire, and the crew,Cypher.
  
  

• Jemil Aziz

  a graduate of the Culinary Academy in Hyde Park, is from New Orleans and has been THE Cajun chef at Seattle restaurants, including The Taste of New Orleans. A most popular instructor as well, he has been teaching culinary skills at the Blue Ribbon Cooking School for 14 years. He's been described by kids as, "He is the bomb..." When he is not teaching these days he runs his own catering company.
  
  

• Ruben Barron

  became hooked on magic as a 10-year-old. As a professional magician since 1994, he performs at comedy clubs, trade shows, company or community events, and private affairs. He is also a performer in schools where he captivates his young audiences performing for them or teaching them magic.
  
  

• Kristina Bartleson

  Kristina graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in NY., and has cooked on tall ships and in fine restaurants. Determining that desserts inspired her the most, she has turned to pastries - at Rover's, Cascadia, and the Four Seasons Hotel. Her family now owns the Sand Point Grill. Her favorite part of preparing food is the presentation - what she calls the "Here, I made this for you."
  
  

• Stephanie Beack

  Stephanie is the president and instructor for Scrumptious Street LLC. She recently moved here from NYC where she was well established in the cooking community. She taught cooking workshops and courses, won awards for original recipes, created her blog, "A Place At My Table," tested recipes for the website Leites Culinaria, and earned a reputation with 5 star reviews from Yelp. Next and now...Seattle!
  
  

• Kathy Bennett

  a multi media artist, print maker, creating intaglio prints that include the use of chine collet, embroidery and ink painting. Using many methods, her print work also includes collagraphs, lino-cuts, and cut shellac plates. She has taught art at elementary and middle schools in Ohio, San Diego and Redmond, WA, and has sold her work at artist co-ops, art fairs, and gift shops.
  
  

• Jennifer Bennett

  Jennifer is a local jewelry artist, designer, and educator. In Seattle she has exhibited her one-of-a-kind pieces at Pacini Lubel Gallery and Kobo Gallery as well as her production work at S.A.M., B.A.M., and Kobo. She uses traditional metal-smithing skills and many textile techniques in her work.
  www.dilucedesign.com
  
  

• Max Bernstein

  Max has been commuting exclusively on his bike for 5 years. He builds his own by combining used and new parts to meet the demands of different geographies. He uses unconventional art techniques to enliven old bikes and empower riders. He teaches bike repair and builds custom bikes for independent cycling projects, art exhibitions, for commuters and tourists. He volunteers as a bike mechanic and teaching assistant with local organizations.
  
  

• James Brandalise

  James, architectural designer and furniture maker, is also proficient in metal arts. He spent fourteen years as a professional restorer of antique furniture, preparing it for market. As a craftsman who has gained extensive knowledge in woods and styles of furniture, including current, vintage and antique, he brings these skills and knowledge to his teaching,
  
  

• Tara Champion

  is a conservation photographer with a M.S. in Biological Photography and Imaging from the Univ. of Nottingham, a B.F.A. In photography and a B.S. in Biology from Seattle University. Her photography, both film and digital, has been published in numerous magazines and has been exhibited in the U.S. and abroad. www.championimagery.com
  
  

• Web Crowell

  Web is an animator and director of several short films and one feature. A member of the Seattle Experimental Animation Team, he is primarily a stop-motion animator. His last film, 'Parasol' successfully toured the globe and he is currently in pre-production on two major projects. His video productions earned him the 2002 Genius Award from The Stranger. He is currently working on a year-long animation project funded by a grant from the city. www.panicbuttonpictures.com
  
  

• Jeannette D'Armand

  is a talented singer, actress, voice over artist and voice teacher, teaching both privately and for two summers at EMP youth program. She's a founding member of 5th Avenue Theatre's women's trio The Daffodils and has performed in several musicals there including Oklahoma!, Sweeney Todd and Sound of Music. She's been a soloist for Cirque du Soleil and has made guest appearances with the Seattle Men's Chorus. Her debut album Stage Road was recorded in New York with back-up vocals by the female founders of Manhattan Transfer.
  
  

• Chris Daigre

  Chris, a contemporary dancer of Afro Latin Jazz, Modern and Hip Hop, has been part of the great Seattle dance scene for over 20 years, many as co-director of Ewajo Dance Studio. He has choreographed for the 5th Avenue Theatre, The Village Theatre, Broadway Bound and Seattle Theatre Group - musicals such as HAIR, Dream Girls, Grease, FAME, and The Wizard of Oz. He continues to teach dance to K-12 kids in public and private schools throughout King County.
  
  

• Jeanne Dodds

  teaches photography, illustration, and assemblage. She earned a BFA with honors in Photography from Boise State University and a Certificate in Scientific Illustration from the University of Washington. She has been a teacher since 1997, currently at museums, schools, and non-profits throughout the Pacific Northwest. She was recently selected as a Washington State Arts Commission Teaching Artist for 2008-2009.
  
  

• Reilly Donovan

  is a graduate of the Cornish College of the Arts, and is a photographer, videographer and mixed media artist. He works in both the Fine Arts and Commercial Arts, and exhibits at Canvas Gallery in Seattle. Currently he is working freelance with Microsoft as well as teaching Web Skills 101 at the South Park Community Center as a 911MAC partner.
  
  

• Bellen Drake

  a graduate of Photographic Center Northwest, has been a professional photographer since 1999. She shoots everything from children, families and events to world champions, fashion shows, and forests. She considers photography a never-ending project and takes photos every day. A gifted teacher, she has taught for Powerful Schools, Community Learning Center, & Seattle Public.
  www.bellendrake.com
  
  

• Jeanne Ferraro

  uses materials from bronze to glass when creating her artwork, which has been shown locally at the William Traver Gallery as well as internationally. A mentor and teacher as well, she teaches at the Northwest School, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Kirkland Art Center, in her private studio, and now at Coyote. Her art courses include glassblowing, glass fusing, fundamentals of drawing, figure drawing and figure sculpture.
  
  

• Angela Flowers

  discovered her love of sewing at fourteen and went on to earn a degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Seattle. Well versed in fabrics, weave, form, angle, texture, sculpture, and color composition, she has specialized in costume designing and sewing for the past 12 years. She has worked for regional and community theaters, including Teatro ZinZanni and has designed for commercials. Her teaching includes many problem -solving sessions coaching seamstresses and young people designing personal fashion.
  
  

• Hannah Victoria Franklin

  Hannah, lecturer at the Univ. of WA and Co-Artistic Director of Washington Ensemble Theatre, has recently performed with Book It, Second Story Repertory, and West of Lenin. She is a member of the Seagull Project at ACT. She toured WA with Intiman's Living History Tour, and also is a director and teacher for Red Eagle Soaring. A 2009 MFA graduate in Acting from the University of Washington, she has performed throughout the U.S., Japan, Russia, and at New York's Carnegie Hall.
  
  

• Stacy Frost

  has been a full-time glass artist since 2003. Her work has been featured in several juried art shows and can be seen in galleries in Kirkland, Seattle, and Japan. She has been teaching in the flameworking studio at Pratt Fine Arts Center since 2004, where she was awarded "-Instructor of the Year" during her tenure there. She has also taught flameworking workshops in Dubai, Italy, and in other US states.
  
  

• Paul Gafni

  Paul played his first chess tournament when he was six and has been competing ever since. In 2009, he won the title of Midwestern Class Champion. He started teaching math and chess professionally while pursuing his B.A. in Mathematics at Northwestern. Later while living in Chicago, he ran eight scholastic chess clubs and taught two Math Olympiad courses. Graduating magna cum laude and with departmental honors, he plans to begin work on a PhD in Mathematics in the Fall of 2013.
  www.PaulGafni.com
  
  

• Mary Gallagher

  is a Seattle Public Schools teacher who co- founded & runs the popular Screenwriting and Film Club at Kimball School.
  
  

• Leland Gipson

  Leland, Program and Community Partnership Coordinator at Bike Works, spent 14 years as a bike messenger in NYC and Seattle before becoming a lead instructor at Bike Works. He is a BMX champion rider, long distance cyclist, expert bike mechanic, custom bike designer and builder, and graffiti artist.
  
  

• Marty Grasa

  was raised in the restaurant business working in his family's restaurant in the Chicago area. He graduated from SSCC Culinary Arts Dept. as top in his class. His professional stints include The Sun Valley Lodge and The Sorrento Hotel. He is chef owner of Un Deux Trois Lowell Hunt Catering and is currently a private chef and an instructor of culinary arts at a classical French cooking school and the Blue Ribbon.
  
  

• Martin Grasa

  
  
  

• Gabriel Herbertson

  Gabriel is a multidisciplinary artist and IT professional, is an accomplished instructor of Graphic/Web Design, Video Game Development & Animation, and Math. He is an aspiring photographer and screen-printer and is a student of 3D modeling and animation for image & video production, focusing on Compositing & Computer Generated image/object production, with AfterFX and Blender.
  
  

• John Hogan

  is an excellent instructor for students of all ages. One of the top instructors in the studio, John develops the skills that are necessary to learn glassblowing while having fun in a creative environment. He has studied at Bowling Green University and currently works as an instructor and professional team member at Seattle Glassblowing Studio.
  
  

• Dayo Jones

  DAYO JONES is the Owner and Executive Chef of DayoSense Catering in Seattle. She and her crew cater events that celebrate comfort dishes with fresh, seasonal and local ingredients from small gatherings to gatherings of 400. A graduate with honors from the International Culinary School of the Art Institute of Seattle, she left her profession as an architect to pursue her real love - culinary arts and creating a sense of family over food.
  
  

• Hocine Jouini

  Hocine is a member of the WORLD-RENOWNED MASSIVE MONKEES CREW. Born out of community centers and the public schools of France, this dancers has performed on the 2007 and 2008 Van's Warped tour, at the Moore Theater, On The Boards and Paramount Theater. He has also competed nationally as well as internationally, winning many notable titles. He looks to better the break dancing community by sharing his knowledge and experience. He's battle-tested, quality-invested, READY!
  
  

• Kathleen Khoo

  Kathleen represents a model Coyote-ite in that her expertise in culinary arts grew naturally as a preteen, cooking with the many "great chefs" in her family. At age 13, her skills and know-how put her in charge of the youth brigade that put on charity drive banquets in her Malaysian community. She's traveled the world picking up recipes and traditional methods of cooking, has recently begun teaching at the Blue Ribbon Cooking School, and has created a food blog, StraitFood.
  www.straitfood.com
  
  

• Elena Korakianitou

  is a multi-media artist who turns any number of mediums into very significant artworks. Her paintings and multi media pieces have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the U.S. and in Europe, and locally at the Pacini/Lubel Gallery and the Bellevue Art Museum. She is a gifted teacher who has inspired her students to produce impressive art in paintings, sculptures, jewelry, objets d'art, and also, to carry on their talents beyond her classes.
  www.elenart.net
  
  

• Dawnula Koukol

  realized her connection and passion for food at a very early age, while growing up on a ranch in rural Montana. She enjoyed working with her mom in the garden as well as baking cinnamon rolls in the fall. Starting her culinary career at age 12 in a small café, Dawnula has since gained experience in French, Cajun, Italian, Spanish, Pan-Asian and world vegetarian cuisines. Formerly the catering chef at Café Flora in Seattle, she is now working as a private chef.
  
  

• Brendan Lattin

  Brendan is an illustrator and fine artist. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.F.A. specializing in sculpture and has since been a prolific, published illustrator and artist. Most recently, Brendan has been working at Urban Artworks as a lead artist and work program educator while doing freelance graphic design and illustration
  
  

• Leslie Lightner

  is the executive chef and founder of Culinary Events Northwest cooking school and Invisible Chef catering. She is a food industry veteran with a love for both travel and the exploration of international and American regional flavors. She is passionate about teaching others how to incorporate those flavors into everyday meals and sophisticated dishes. A long time member of the APPCA, Leslie has enjoyed working alongside the best chefs, restaurateurs and caterers in the greater Seattle area and abroad.
  www.culinaryeventsnw.com
  
  

• Lin Lucas

  Lin is a visual and performing artist whose comics and illustrations have appeared in The Stranger, Top Shelf Comics, the Xeric Award winning Two-Fisted Science, The Psychology of Race, and the French anthology Le Dernier Neurone. He is also the writer-artist of the mini-series, Creepy Joe. A highly regarded teaching artist, he has taught cartooning at the Northwest School, Gage Academy, Powerful Schools, Pacific Arts Center, Path with Art, and currently at Coyote.
  
  

• Brent McDonald

  has helped lead Coyote's Hit the Streets kids through four summers of major public art making. He's skilled as an artist, art installation expert (including major construction challenges), and teacher - a veteran soapbox teacher, for one!
  
  

• Claudine Nako

  Claudine is an actor, singer, and director and teaches kids improvisation, theatre, and musical theatre. She's performed in national tours with the UW Centennial Singers and has performed in venues across the nation including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Telluride Playwrights Festival, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. She recently starred in Washington Ensemble Theatre's production of "The Callers."
  
  

• Tony Orduna

  Tony is also known as Dialtone U.S. National Champion. He has been a part of hip hop culture since his first class with DVOne at Coyote in the 6th grade. Developing in breakdancing elements the most, he has traveled the world for the last 11 years competing, judging, and learning as much as he can about this dance and culture. Summer 2011 he spent a month touring in Korea.
  
  

• Eric Padget

  Eric is a classically and commercially trained songwriter, trumpet player, arranger, and singer. He spends his time performing, touring, and recording with a variety of bands ranging from Latin, Jazz, and Belkan to Noise, Pop, and Avant Garde Performance Art. His extensive background in songwriting and education ensures that his students will gain skills and techniques that will well serve their interests.
  
  

• Elizabeth Peckham

  ELIZABETH PECKHAM, owner and creator of Heavenly Chocolates in 1995, enjoys both national and international sales. Her classic line of chocolates is featured in select stores locally and has been featured in print & on radio. She began teaching chocolate making classes in 2001, has since expanded to desserts and savory, teaching at culinary schools, commercial locations, universities and privately.
  www.heavenly-chocolates.com
  
  

• Clyde Petersen

  Clyde is a local filmmaker and musician who makes music videos, full-length documentaries, and abstract shorts. Watch for Boating With Clyde and her feature-length film, The Unspeakable, which focuses on NW Artists. In fall 2010 she produced a 20x10 foot chalk animation on the wall surrounding the Sound Transit construction site at Cal Anderson Park. www.doitforthegirls.com
  
  

• Andrew Peterson

  Andrew combines his extensive background in the studies of engineering, electronics, and art to create multi-disciplinary workshops for middle school students that rely on creativity and problem solving. He has received generous funding for his projects from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, 4Culture, and Artist Trust. He has been a leader for youth arts programs with SEEDArts, Sanctuary Arts Center, and Urban Impact and has also taught visual art at Washington State University and Seattle Pacific University.
  
  

• Nichole Rathburn

  Nichole is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts with a degree in Fine Art; today she works as a multi-media artist, studio assistant, and freelance web-designer with a deep appreciation for the possibilities that grow with knowledge of the world wide web. She has taught for the Adobe Youth Voices program and 911 Seattle Media Arts Center.
  
  

• Terri Rau

  is a Pratt instructor of hot glass beadmaking and glass fusing for middle school students and has taught metal fabrication, glass beadmaking, and enameling to Cleveland High School students. Her silver and bead jewelry is represented locally at Vetri.
  
  

• Trevor Ridge

  Trevor, a musician and music producer, works in Seattle, Hawaii, L.A., & the east coast. Locally, he performs drums with the soul/funk group Irukandji at the Triple Door, Nectar Lounge, and Chop Suey. He earned a Sound Engineering degree from the Musician's Institute in L.A. and a BFA for Music from Cornish, specializing in guitar and piano. He plays drums, percussion, bass guitar, organ, Rhodes piano, and harmonica... and sings. He has taught at the Paul Green School of Rock where he organized regional performances for young rock musicians.dge
  
  

• Bridgid Roney

  Bridgid has been performing locally for 15 years with rock, pop, hip hop and jazz groups. Her voice has been featured in several national radio jingles and she has recently expanded her profession to include Live Sound Engineering at The Jewel Box Theater, the Rogue and Peasant. She gives individual vocal instruction at Shoreline Community College, Off the Wall School of Music, and Music Factory NW.
  
  

• Phyllis Rosen

  PHYLLIS ROSEN, a Seattle caterer and owner of Catering by Phyllis for the past 23 years, specializes in creating menus from local sources. She is also a private chef and she teaches a range of culinary courses both privately and to groups of adults and young chefs-in-the-making. Her culinary favorites include Indonesian, French, Italian, Russian, and Scandinavian and her areas of focus include among the classic, also smoked seafood and meats, macrobiotic, kosher, vegan, and vegetarian.
  
  

• Britt Rynearson

  is a textile artist and owner of Chine, whose line of textiles is sold nationwide, including in The Seattle Art Museum. Britt has been in involved in design and fashion her whole life. A painting graduate of Scripps College, she later studied fabric in Italy, silk weaving in Indonesia, and became trained in the Japanese art of shibori. She has studied all aspects of fashion, and now creates wearable art. She is a gifted teacher, drawing from what she has experienced in her personal immersion in fashion. Website: www.brittrynearson.com
  
  

• Karl Schmitz

  Karl taught ballroom dancing for Fred Astaire Studios for five years, specializing in American Rhythm and Latin dancing. Later, he became an excellent, serious, funny classroom teacher at Washington Middle School. He relates well to what young people want out of dance... To show skill, accomplishment, and very cool steps!
  
  

• Michelle Searle

  front singer for local Funk-Hop band Feverton, which recently released the Ape Strut EP and will have a full LP out this year. She sings rock, pop, jazz, choral, classical and electronica and works with many of the working musicians in Seattle. With other vocal improve artists, she participates in a monthly music event, Sing -It-Live. She teaches at the Music Factory and at the Summer Meltdown Music Festival.
  
  

• Joanne Sugura

  while working on her MFA in sculpture in NYC worked as a recipe tester, Cook Book Author assistant, food stylist and caterer to the Madison Avenue crowd. She also consulted and helped develop recipes for restaurants. After moving to Seattle she continued to do restaurant consulting, was a chef at Pink Door, and co-owned the Hi Spot for several years. This is her second summer teaching at Coyote.
  
  

• Lana Sundberg

  a veteran artist in ceramics, painting and mixed media, has also been teaching kids for over 20 years. From NYC to Seattle, she has been exhibiting her paintings in art galleries, her sculpture installations at Bumbershoot, and ceramics in prominent collections. She also has been teaching for ArtsCorps the last 9 years and is still excited and inspired by her work teaching young artists.
  
  

• Toyia T. Taylor

  TOYIA T. TAYLOR is the first woman of color to perform oratory as a talent at the Miss America Pageant. Her poem Blue Note Room was composed to classical music and debuted at Carnegie Hall in January 2011. She was featured in the 35th Anniversary Limited Edition of Interview Magazine as one of the top new artists to look out for in NYC. In 2008 she performed for O Magazine at the Women Rule! Leadership Training Conference.
  
  

• Ann Teplick

  poet, playwright, & prose writer, has an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College. The past 18 years she's been a teaching artist, writing with youth in schools; Richard Hugo House; Coyote Central; Providence Hospice; and Pongo Teen Publishing where she has worked in King County juvenile detention. She loves to witness the power of story in changing lives.
  
  

• Marcus Trader

  Marcus is combining his professional talents as a performing musician & as director of Foundry Dynamic Productions, which is dedicated to new music presentations, as a private music instructor of several instruments, and as director of middle and high school bands and choruses in Harlem, the Bronx, and Seattle. A graduate of Garfield High School, Boston University and Columbia University, he earned university degrees in Brass Performance, Philosophy, and Education. His commitment to enriching community through the arts is unfaltering.
  
  

• Sheri Vahey

  
  
  

• Brad Vanderberg

  Brad has worked professionally in the film industry in Los Angeles and Seattle as a screenwriter, producer, director, and film editor for nearly 25 years. He has edited documentaries that have aired on HBO, A&E, and the Starz Network. A member of the Writer's Guild of America, he is currently senior film editor for the hit series HOARDERS on A&E.
  
  

• Liza vonRosenstiel

  paints everything she can get her hands on! She's famous at Coyote for leading many Hit the Streets and CityWorks projects. Her paintings have been shown in major galleries around the country. She has received painting grants from all the local arts commissions and her paintings are in the collections of Microsoft, University Hospital, the lobby of Seattle Children's Theatre. Website: www.lizavonrosenstiel.com, dog portraits included!
  
  

• Vance Wolfe

  With degrees from the University of Washington in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, Vance has since turned his attention to his love for furniture, art, and architectural design. He is a gifted welder, woodworker, and designer, who has, over the past few years, dedicated much of his time to teaching and developing Coyote's popular welding program.
  
  

• Mateo Zapata Zachai

  Mateo received his MFA in Photography from Yale University. His work is collected nationally and internationally, has been published in Artweek, and exhibited on both coasts. He teaches photography at Shoreline Community College and Photographic Center Northwest, has taught workshops at SAM, critiqued and taught at Yale School of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, UW, Bellevue College, Youth in Focus, and Coyote Central. www.zachai.com
  
  

• © 2009-2013 COYOTE CENTRAL
• SITEMAP
• PRIVACY