About the Author

Debi West

Debi West, Ed.S, NBCT, and WESTpectations Educational Consulting owner, is a retired art educator with over thirty years of teaching experience. This includes twenty-four years of teaching children through the visual arts in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Debi has taught at both the elementary and the secondary levels. She spent her career using project-based learning, art with purpose theories, and integrated instruction with the commitment of ensuring that every student became a successful and authentic learner.

Debi West has written and published over 150 articles for Arts & Activities magazine, School Arts magazine, and the Art of Education University, where she currently teaches online graduate courses. She has been featured in five art education books and has written eight teaching resource guides. She is a leader in the field of art education, working tirelessly with the National Art Education Association as elected former Southeastern Vice President and Southeastern Division Director at both the elementary and secondary levels. Debi West has also served as the former President, Youth Art Month chair, business rep, and conference coordinator for the Georgia Art Education Association. She has presented more than eighty workshops, keynotes, and presentations regionally and nationally. Her visual art has been exhibited in numerous galleries, and she is currently working on her jewelry-making skills and is featured in several upcoming art festivals.

Debi has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the recent 2021 National Emeritus Art Educator, National Elementary Art Educator, National Southeastern Secondary Art Educator, National NAHS Sponsor of the year, the NAEA Marion Quin Dix Leadership award, and was a top ten contender for Georgia Teacher of the Year, representing Gwinnett County Georgia as their 2005 Teacher of the Year. She proudly dedicates these awards to the thousands of students she has been honored to teach throughout the years.

Debi currently resides in Hilton Head, SC with her husband Chuck and is the proud mom of Croy and Carson.

Professional Achievements:

University of South Carolina Bachelor’s Degree (1989)

Moore College of Art and Design Degree (1992)

University of Georgia Master’s Degree (1999)

University of Georiga Education Specialist Degree (2004)

University of Georgia Doctorate Degree (2014)