Meet Your Instructors

The Orange Easel Teaching Team

Allison May Jensen, owner

Allison founded Orange Easel in 2014. She lives in Liberty MO with her husband of 20+ years and has two kiddos in college. Allison has a bachelor's degree in Art and Spanish from the the University of Iowa and a background in restaurant management and cooporate training. She a die-hard Cubs fan and rarely misses a game. Her favorite media to teach is watercolors!

Sara Woolfolk, Platte Woods GM

Sara is the GM at our Platte Woods studio and Orange Easel's most-veteran (that sounds better than "oldest") instructor. Before Orange Easel, she served as the manager of the Creative Services department at The Kansas City Star. She lives in Liberty MO with her husband, Steve, and their son, Sam, the world's worst dog, and an incredibly grumpy cat named Saturday. Miss Allison asked her what her favorite media was for this bio and she listed them all...so lets just say, she likes ART.

Akira Alves, instructor

Akira is our resident clay expert in the studio! She has a bachelor's degree from Missouri State University and enjoys watching movies and trying new coffee shops. She also plays the ukulele and is a BIT of a Disney fanatic!

Alaina Mink, instructor

Alaina is studying graphic design at Park University and has been part of the Orange Easel team for three years. She also works with Park University’s admissions team. Her favorite art media are markers and ink, and outside of work she enjoys drawing, nature photography, thrifting, spending time around her college town, and watching The Lord of the Rings.

Andrea Busch, instructor

Andrea brings over 30 years of experience in early childhood education, including teaching with Liberty Public Schools and Pleasant Valley Baptist Church Preschool. She holds a degree in Education from Northwest Missouri State and loves to create with paper, crayons, and markers. Andrea and her husband Ed have lived in Liberty for 33 years and are proud parents to two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, and a wonderful girlfriend. She’s happiest when she’s learning, helping others, staying active, and soaking up sunshine on a beach vacation.

CeCe Holt, instructor

CeCe works as a caricature artist who also works reading specialist in a local montessori school. She holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and loves painting and kayaking in her spare time.

Chandler Martin, instructor

Chandler is a graduate of Park University who enjoys exploring creativity through oil pastels. Outside of the studio, Chandler enjoys reading and writing in his spare time. He’s excited to share his love of art and creativity with young artists at Orange Easel.

Ella Canon, instructor

Ella is a senior in high school and an Orange Easel student. This is her first job, and she has three older brothers, a younger sister, and three pugs. Her favorite medium is watercolor! Outside of art and Orange Easel, to quilt, knit, cross-stitch, run track, collect bottle caps, and read.

Grace Ventimiglia, instructor

Miss Grace has been teaching at Orange Easel since 2016. She is a creative soul with a background working in hospitality and childcare industries. Her favorite media to work with is acrylics, decoupage, or just plain ol' sharpie. Outside of Orange Easel, she likes to play video games, cook (and bake for her Orange Easel teammates), and record music with her partner, Aaron.

Indie Gularso

Indie is a senior at Liberty North High School and studies at the Excelsior Springs Career Center, with plans to join the ENCORE program in their final year. They have volunteered at Orange Easel for the past two summers and are excited to continue being part of the creative community. Indie especially enjoys digital art, creative writing, and working with lighting in theatre productions. At home, they share life with two cats and a big love of books.

Jackie Anderson, instructor

Miss Jackie has spent most of her career working in the medical field is is thrilled to finally get to do ART (her love) as her job! She enjoys drawing, sketching, and chalk pastels the most. She and her husband of 15 years relocated to KC after her husband retired from the military. Outside of work, she loves reading and doing any type of art activities with her 5yr old (who is also an Orange Easel artist).

Katie Rowland, instructor

Katie studied at the Art Institute of Kansas City after being homeschooled for most of her K–12 education. She’s spent much of her career working in studios and teaching art classes—and once worked at Michaels, mostly to fund her craft supply habit. Acrylic is her favorite medium, but she also loves reading and writing—and has even written several novels!

Kristi Ford, instructor

Kristi is currently attending MCC. Before joining the team at Orange Easel she was a server at First Watch for 10 years. She loves fiber arts and has been crocheting for 20 years. She lives in KC with her two kids and two dogs. Outside of work, her favorite hobby is crafting with friends.

Kylei Harris, instructor

Miss Kylei holds a Bachelors Degree in Art Education and Art History. She is currently an K-12 art teacher in the public schools. She lives with her fiancé, Jake, and her black lab, Gator. Kylei's favorite media is fiber arts, outside of work she enjoys running, crocheting, and reading.

Laura Jane Roland, instructor

Miss Laura has a BA in English from Truman State University and an eclectic work background: she has been Snoopy at Camp Snoopy, given temporary tattoos at Worlds of Fun, roasted coffee, been a bookseller, and worked in a bakery. She shares her home with her husband of 12 years, 10 year old daughter, and three cats: Pokey, Nigel, and Macaroni. She loves watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink.

Lily Menzies, instructor

Lily is a junior at Liberty High School. She's been an Orange Easel student since we opened in 2014 and has volunteered to help in classes and camps for the past three years. She likes working with acrylic paints and mixed media art. When she's not at work or school, she enjoys baking, coloring, and reading.

Lindsey Beem, instructor

Lindsey holds a Bachelor of Science in Art Education K–12 from Park University and has experience working as an Art Camp Counselor at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis. Her favorite media are graphite and charcoal. Outside of the studio, Lindsey loves listening to indie, folk, and 80s music and is a fan of musicals—especially The Phantom of the Opera. She also has a 9-year-old parrotlet named Kiwi who is her little ray of sunshine!

Liz Reinhardt, instructor

Miss Liz is the magic many of the Orange Easel birthday parties on Saturdays in Liberty. During the week, she teaches alittle bit of everything...drawing, multimedia, and evening sewing! She lives in the KC metro with her husband Matthew and her 7 year old son, Malcolm. Outside of Orange Easel, she's an avid runner. She and her family travel to Iowa every summer to participate in a seven mile race!

Melissa McCullough, instructor

Melissa is an K-12 art teacher with the Liberty Public Schools. She lives in Liberty with her husband and three young children. She holds a masters degree in Studio Art & Theory and loves drawing, photography, and printmaking. Outside of worktime, she love rehabbing her house and working on her photography.

Nancy Martin, instructor

Nancy has been with the Orange Easel instructor team since we opened back in 2014. She has a bachelor of fine arts from the Kansas City Art Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Chicago. She's a former teacher at KCAI and the Nelson Atkins Museum. In her time away for the studio, she loves taking long walks, reading, listening to music and going to great restaurants.

Owen Lampert, instructor

Owen is currently pursuing a degree in Art Education and has spent the past three years working as a paraprofessional with Liberty Public Schools. He enjoys creating with paint and digital media and loves helping others grow their artistic confidence. When he’s not making art, Owen enjoys CrossFit, drawing, and taking walks with his dog and fiancée. Fun fact: Owen was born in Boston!

Stephanie Torres, Studio Services Coordinator

Stephanie Torres brings her background in hospitality and event management to the creative world of art education. She earned her BA in Hospitality Management and spent seven years as a Convention Event Manager in Dallas before making Kansas City her home. Stephanie enjoys working with acrylic paints and alcohol inks, finding joy in bold colors and fluid designs. Outside of the studio, she loves reading, spending time outdoors, and, of course, making art. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and their two kids.

Xavier Holt, instructor

Xavier has loved art for as long as he can remember, often helping teach younger students during his school years. He’s worked as a caricature artist at Worlds of Fun and currently enjoys his role as a ride operator at Powerplay. He specializes in digital art and ink drawing. In his downtime, Xavier also enjoys playing video games—but art is always his favorite way to relax and express himself!