Teresa has had a passionate interest in the visual arts since her pre-school years, always drawing and fascinated with beauty. In kindergarten her teacher informed her that she was an artist. In first grade when she began reading she was fascinated with God's Word in the family Catholic Bible and there was influenced by the paintings and calligraphy. She took her first art class from an artist when she was ten years old. She studied art, design, art history, graphics, and calligraphy in middle school, high school and college. Teresa has taught the arts to elementary, middle school and high school students. She has taught art in classes with those who are in low income housing, who have alzheimer's and dementia, those with mental health assessments and physical impairments. She has taught art with children who have learning disabilities. Teresa has advocated for children with the arts who are in the judicial and social service systems. She has trained and goes through monthly trainings first as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and secondly as a Dependency Guardian Ad Litem (DGAL). Teresa returned to college to complete a prior learning from experience program to document the value and the benefits of the arts in her career at the Evergreen State College. She also has trained with Washington State in a Teaching Artists Training lab for K-12 academic standards.