Dr. Jane Montero
Biography
Dr. Jane Montero comes to EMU after teaching fifth and sixth-grade art at Creekside Intermediate School in Dexter since 2001. She began her teaching career in California in 1989. Jane currently serves as President of the Michigan Art Education Association (MAEA) and is on the Board of Directors for the National Art Education Association (NAEA). Jane is a 2019 graduate of NAEA’s School for Art Leaders and has received multiple honors, including NAEA's National Middle-Level Art Educator of the Year (2021), the Marion Quin Dix Leadership Award (2022), Outstanding Art, Media, Technology Educator Award (2024), and the Outstanding Design Educator Award (2025). Dr. Montero presents annually on digital art and AI, has published widely in School Arts magazine, and co-edited the 2024 Design Issue of School Arts. Her dissertation on empathy and design thinking appeared in IJADE, and she won Best Presentation for her AI-focused research in Barcelona, Spain (2024). Jane will be presenting her paper Elevating Creativity: The Rise of Digital Design in Art Education Classrooms at the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) in Barcelona, Spain this fall 2025. Currently, Dr. Montero is teaching two courses at Eastern Michigan University: Learning in the Visual Arts (ARTE 220) and Approaches to Visual Arts Education (ARTE 460). Jane champions innovation, collaboration, and design in art education and looks forward to working with university students at EMU this fall.