Andrea holds a great passion for the arts, culture, and animals. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute (Graduate Fellowship) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Missouri State University, including a year abroad at Université Paul Valéry III, Montpellier, France. Prior to graduate studies in the visual arts, Andrea also taught English to French primary students in Paris. Her experience in art extends to include the SIM Artist Residency program in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the Artist Residency Project at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Moreover, Andrea has been an advocate for the study abroad experience, developing, implementing, and leading art and culture study away programs in both France and Japan for seven years at Missouri State University. Her independent research on environmental sustainability expands to include architecture, animals, and ecosystems. Onsite in Japan, she conducted fieldwork on Sado Island relating to the Japanese crested ibis (toki). Her conversations with Yoko Kondo, a ranger with the Ministry of the Environment, and Fumi Oyama, a renowned photojournalist, explore changes in human behavior to assist in saving the species. Collaborating with her sister, Sarah-Marie, the two cultivated an innovative, educational unit on Lascaux Cave, earning the Excellence Award at The Wilson School in Spring 2025 and presented at the Japanese Association of Art Education (JAAEd) Research Conference at Waseda University in Tokyo in Spring 2026. Entitled Forward-Thinking Artifacts, her presentation included methodologies for engaging students through innovative practices and cultural perspectives. This is Andrea’s fifth year teaching art courses with Paris Academia.