Kris Finn is a native Iowan who has lived in Central Florida for 30 years.  She received her degree in studio art from the University of Iowa and has taught multiple student levels since 1998.  Her personal work includes a wide variety of media with a focus on acrylic paint, fibers, watercolor, jewelry, metals, mosaic and ink.  She is a member of the Florida Art Education Association, the Orange County Art Educator’s Association and the NAEA.  Over the years her students have won awards of excellence and have had work recognized in multiple juried competitions, community events and publications.  Her recognitions while teaching in OCPS include finalist for the Kessler Grand Bohemian Excellence In Arts, Teacher of The Year, OCPS HERO Teacher and the FAEA June Hinckley Award for Excellence. She has also served as a curriculum writer, presenter, board member and show docent, and as a juror for multiple student exhibitions.  Helping students succeed and become lifelong participants in the arts is what makes her most happy.  Starting in Fall of 2022, she will be starting a flexible mobile art program in her converted transit bus, Olive The Art Bus.  Learn more soon at TheArtBusFl.com!

• Bachelor of Fine Arts: Studio Art

• Art K-12 Florida Educator's Certificate

Rachel Buckley is a graduate of Florida State University (GO NOLES!). She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education in 2001. She grew up in Orlando and attended Orange County Public Schools. She has been teaching art at the middle school level since 2001. Her art interests and areas of proficiency include painting (acrylic and watercolor), drawing very detailed designs in pen and ink, sewing and fiber arts, painting furniture, graphic arts, clay sculpture, jewelry fabrication, and design. Rachel is an active member of the Florida Art Education Association and the National Art Education Association. She was a recipient of the Kessler, Grand Bohemian Excellence in the Arts Award and scholarship in 2006. She was a recipient of the FAEA June Hinckley Art Educator Award of Excellence in 2021.  She also published and edited an award-winning art and literature magazine with Westridge Middle School, Voice, in partnership with Howard Middle School in 2004. Most importantly, her passion is teaching people how to express themselves through art. 

• Bachelor of Science: Art Education, Florida State University

• Art K-12 Florida Educator’s Certificate

• Gifted Endorsement

Ami Perez is a native Floridian and a graduate of the University of Florida. She  received her Bachelor of Arts in Art Education with Honors from UF in 2001. She  has taught art at both the elementary and middle school level and has been  teaching since 2003. She is an active member of the Florida Art Education  Association and the Orange County Art Educator’s Association. Her personal art  shows a love for collage that includes mixed media such as watercolor, ink and  pencil drawings, and painted papers. She loves teaching young people art with  the hope that it will help create a lifelong appreciation of the arts and the power  of creativity. During her time in OCPS, she has helped students participate and  succeed in community art events and juried exhibitions and Blankner’s annual  Family Art Night. When she is not teaching, her biggest joy is spending time with  her family and creating her own personal art. 

-Bachelor of Art in Art Education, University of Florida 

-Art K-12 Florida Educator’s Certificate

• Bachelor of Fine Arts: Studio Art

• Art K-12 Florida Educator's Certificate

Clinton McCracken grew up in the midwest and received a BFA from Truman State University and a Masters in Art Education from the University of Central Florida. He has been teaching art since 2000 and wrote the proposal to create the magnet program at Howard Academy of Arts. He has received numerous local, state, and national awards for his teaching, advocacy, and leadership with the magnet program including Teacher of the Year, Grand Bohemian Excellence in the Arts, FAEA Award of Excellence in Teaching, Arts School Emerging Leadership Award, Florida Human and Civil Rights Leadership Award, and Equality Florida’s Voice for Equality Award. He enjoys working with oil pastel in his own artwork where he focuses on abstract and intuitive drawings. He spends his free time advocating for issues in education, social justice, and LGBTQ+ equality and loves to travel and spend time with his husband, Mike. More information is available at www.clintonmccracken.com and you can follow him on Instagram @clintonwarner.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts: Studio Art

• Master of Arts: Art Education

• Art K-12 Florida Educator's Certificate

• National Board Certified Teacher