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Board of Directors:

Advisors to the Board

SGAA's Distinguished Staff:

Alexandra Berger, Assistant Director: Alex is SGAA's Assistant Director and has been working with most types of glass (hot, flame, fused) since 2003. She is a self-taught lampworker and studied furnace glassblowing at Simon Pearce in Vermont. Alex worked for Philabaum Glass Studios before migrating to SGAA in 2006. Her personal glass work primarily focuses on fused glass plates and jewelry pieces; check out her work at www.openmoutharts.com.

Bill Chappell: Bill was born in Yuma and raised in Tucson. He started taking classes at SGAA as a high school student in 2006. Bill quickly showed a high level of commitment and enthusiasm for the medium and came to the attention of our staff. Bill began working at SGAA in 2010 helping out around the studio both as a maintenance person and as a Hot Shop assistant.

Genie Eaker, Enameling Instructor: Genie moved to Tucson 2 years ago and splits her time between AZ and South Carolina doing Art Shows and teaching in both regions. Genie teaches Warm Glass courses including: Fusing, Slumping, and Draping techniques and is pleased to offer the Enamel On Metal Program at SGAA with Edward Ejk. In addition to doing metal enameling, Genie fuses glass and works on the torch.

Edward Ejk, Enameling Instructor: Ed moved to Arizona 4 years ago after owning and managing his Art Gallery in Tarpon Springs, Florida and he is currently the Arizona state representative for Sunshine Artist Magazine doing Art show reviews across the state. Ed teaches Warm Glass courses including: Fusing, Slumping, and Draping techniques and is pleased to offer the Enamel On Metal Program at SGAA with Genie Eaker. Ed is a silversmith, lampworker, and enamellist; and has been doing Lapidary and Scrimshaw for over thirty years. Ed loves to combine various techniques from different mediums into his projects.

Sam Hoffman, Hot Shop Instructor: Sam is the newest member of SGAA's staff. He has been a student here since 2008 and showed great promise from his first class. Sam is now teaching beginner level Hot Shop classes. A native of Tucson, Sam left to go to Oberlin for a few years and returned to Tucson in 2004.

Jillian Justiniano, Hot Shop Instructor: Jillian has worked at SGAA for many years as a Hot Shop assistant, teaching a variety of BYOB events and beginner level classes. Jill is the lead instructor for all SGAA Women Only Hot Shop Classes.

William Justiniano, Hot Shop Manager: William is SGAA's Hot Shop Manager, in addition to being one of our finest instructors. He began blowing glass in Seattle, where he worked under many great artists and was encouraged to pursue a career in glass instruction. William has been teaching for twelve years, and has been an instructor at SGAA since 2001. His personal work can be found in private collections around the country.

Jason Marstall, Hot Shop Instructor: Jason started working with glass as a student here at the Academy. His creative style brought him to the attention of the staff and in 2006 he became a Hot Shop instructor. Jason has continued his glass education by taking classes at Pilchuck Glass School and working with various Visiting Instructors. Jason specialized in complex techniques like murrini roll-ups, encalmos, and bit work.

Alysa Phiel, Warm Shop Manager: Alysa, our Warm Shop Manager, has been with SGAA since October 2009. She is one of the owners of Creations In Glass and is a third generation glass artist. Alysa has over 20 years of experience in warm glass, regularly teaching classes and creating custom work for private homes. We are excited to have Alysa join us as one of our Warm Shop instructors, focusing on intermediate to advanced techniques in fusing/slumping and kiln forming.

Tom Philabaum: In 1973, Philabaum received an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin where he studied glass with Harvey Littleton, recognized as the father of the studio glass movement in the United States. He started a cooperative glass studio in Tucson in 1975, earned his M.F.A. from UA in 1983, and helped orchestrate the first Glass Art Society conference in Tucson that same year. He was co-chair for the GAS conference held in Tucson in 1997, and received the Arizona Artist of the Year award in 1998. He has served on the boards of the Glass Art Society, the American Craft Council, the Tucson Visiting Artists Consortium, and SGAA, which he co-founded in 2001.

Karl Taylor, Flame Shop Manager: Karl Taylor began working with glass in 2001, at the age of 17. While Karl specializes in lampworking, he often experiments with furnace work and fusing, combining various aspects of each. He has enhanced his skills by working with instructors, such as Tom Philabaum, Fritz Dreisbach, Shane Fero, Bandhu Dunham, and Loren Stump. Karl has been our Flame Shop Manager since 2006 and is our lead lampworking instructor.