Art and Community Portfolio
(2002-2023)

English & Cultural Arts

Japan

I was an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) for the Japanese Exchange Program (JET) run by the Japan Embassy of Education in Fukuoka, Japan from 2002-2004. I taught English and cultural arts in five schools - one middle school (ages 11-14 year old) and four elementary schools (ages 5-10 years old). I helped design class curricula and programs that educated kids on cultures outside of Japan while integrating the English language. I organized a yearly holiday party that involved officials from the Board of Education, community leaders, parents and kids to share in the spirit of the various holidays celebrated around the world. This has become an annual event and has been running since 2002.

Brazil

I taught Portuguese and English to 4-6 year olds in Rocinha, the largest slum in Latin America in Rio de Janeiro and worked with neighborhood leaders, educators and peacemakers to create safe environments for learning within conflict.
Argentina

During my 6 month work-study in Jovita, Argentina, where I taught English, I organized a musical event where every age group 5-7 year olds 8-10 year olds 11-12 year olds and 13+ sang, danced and acted out a scene or song in English. It was featured on the local TV for over a year.

Support Group for Foreigners

After returning from Argentina, I worked with three women to establish, “BrazMil,” the first Brazilian non-profit in Milwaukee that provided support for Brazilians living in Milwaukee. I led and organized the fundraising event in downtown Milwaukee that gathered over 300 people for a Brazil Night of samba, food, drinks and cultural arts displays. The original group still lives in Milwaukee and continues the annual Brazilian party.  

Public School Teaching Volunteer
I served as a volunteer teacher one day a week in a 5th grade reading class in the Bronx for a year in New York where I assisted and supported the main teacher in finding fun and unique ways to engage students in stories, minimize conflict and teach group problem solving.

Artist and Creative Director

TAPIN was a community art collective I started in 2012 where I facilitated group circles on specific emotions and used video, photography and art materials to ponder, discuss and bring to life a specific emotion and learn about each individual's relationship to it. These circles, captured in video and photography, were used as the art pieces that led to over 8 emotion-based public art installations and experiences. Each experience invited passerbyers and neighbors to join in and express how they feel about an emotion to create spaces of acceptance and connection. thetapin.org

Community Art Facilitator

Being a program Manager at the League of Creative Interventionists allowed me the

opportunity to work with community leaders in neighborhoods across the country including Wichita, Kansa, Akron,Ohio, Macon, Georgia, San Francisco, Charlotte, North Carolina. I led over 20 community leaders through a fellowship program that supported yearly neighborhood projects. I designed the program, mentored the leaders, listened to their feedback to create an even stronger 2nd year program as well as help bring to life their art installations. I worked for 18 months with the Summit Lake Community Group, local officials and other partners to create a space for art and educational opportunities for youth and share the stories of their neighborhood through photography projects, art classes and a youth work group. http://creativeinterventionists.org/projects

Camp Grief Counselor

I served as a Counselor for girls 9-11 years old at Camp Erin, a weekend camp for children grieving a lost parent or family member. Led sharing and creativity circles and provided emotional support.

Meditation & Art Teacher

I led a weekly Tuesday Morning Meditation & Art class for the Healing Well in the Tenderloin in San Francisco that supports people who are transient, recovering from addiction and houseless for over two years.

Community Organizer / Peacemaker

With the help of the Milwaukee Arts Board, Habitat for Humanity, Peak Initiative, Parks Department, Franke Idea fund, the Mayor's Office and other sponsors and partners, I co-lead the Making Peace in Midtown project where we partnered with seven local community groups in my former neighborhood (53205) to come together to create public displays of peace and interaction. With artists Muneer Bahudeen, Ben Koller, Steven Kodis, Wes Tank, Malcom McCrae and other local artists, we led three community workshops, started two community groups - Friends of Tiefenthaler Park and Midtown Neighborhood Alliance and led residents in a peacemaking process that resulted in five peace posts that are permanent

structures in the Tiefenthaler park, with 250 clay tiles in 12 feet tall cedar posts, a repainted symbolic refurbished and repainted HOME basketball court, obtained a Stand for Peace day proclamation from the Mayor and celebrated peace with the community in the park. Project

Video: https://vimeo.com/296426872 Featured:https://youtu.be/tUfWHGCjma4

Whole Health Facilitator

I worked as a “Whole Health Facilitator” for two consecutive conferences of The Global Summit. The first in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the second in Amman, Jordan in 2018. I worked with local leaders to help organize local and global speakers, leaders and participants, and develop relevant content and activities for three day workshops about cultivating a society of whole people - in body, mind, emotions and spirit. I was also responsible for giving a 45 minute interactive talk on the importance of emotions to over 200 people.

Sport of Art  - Basketball Design and Painting Curriculum

In the summer of 2020 and 2021, I worked with ActivateMKE to facilitate a youth loss and legacy art curriculum that taught kids how to think about local leaders, legacy and ultimately how to design and create basketball courts that bring to life their neighborhood identity.  I worked with the Killiebrew Court project with Lead Artist Jonathan Holt and the Moody Park project (3 courts) with community leaders and Lead Artist Jamaal 

Killiebrew: https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/madison/news/2020/09/29/a-basketball-court-is-bouncing-new-life-into-milwaukee-s-rufus-king-neighborhood-

Moody: https://activateco.co/

Safe and Peaceful Neighborhood Art & Entertainment
In March of 2020 I embarked on a project to bring live entertainment - movies and music to inner-city neighborhoods through the Parking Lot Theater - project where residents could safely hear and see movies and music in their cars and learn more about neighborhood groups and resources, how to stay safe during COVID-19 and have a great time.  We did 6 events in 5 neighborhoods in a year and raised over $35,000.  https://www.parkinglottheatre.com/neighborhoods

Free to Feel Art & Yoga Facilitator

Newaukee: Led 4 weeks of free yoga and art classes (April 2020) for Newaukee members during COVID-19 to help Milwaukeeans get through feelings of loneliness, isolation and get their body moving.

Arts @ Large: Served as the January 2021 Artists in Residence for the Arts4All program and created 4 one hour videos of art and yoga for ages 8-85.
https://annekoller.com/art-yoga-classes

PEAK Initiative: 5 week yoga and art class (March 20-April 20 2022) for community residents at PEAK initiative that integrated yoga, pranayam, art and meditation to work through complex emotions - anger, anxiety, shame, sadness, impatience and joy.

High School Swim Coach

I returned to my high school where I swam (1994-1998) to coach girls high school swimming.  I recruited from 3 of the co-op schools, built the team to 20 girls after years of low turnout rate, worked with teachers, ADs, Riverside Alumni Milwaukee Recreation Department to ensure our girls were supported in getting the resources they needed and support in feeling confident in the water, becoming stronger swimmers and creating a sisterhood in the water.  Led the Rainbow Classic where 4 swimmers did poetry and musical performances during intermission to showcase their artistry outside of the pool. 

https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2021/10/19/riverside-university-high-school-swim-team-br-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PquxYCUq_os

Heart of the City Campaign 

Currently partnering with Alderman Stamper, Midtown Neighborhood Alliance and Midtown residents to design, create and implement a sense of unity through neighborhood flags, yard signs and key indicators for the purpose of harmonizing and clarifying where Midtown Neighborhood is and how important it is to the city of Milwaukee.