Theresa Stevens, Founder Theresa founded Mariposa’s Art in 1998 as a result of her teaching experience in public school. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Music, Italian, and Education from James Madison University in Virginia. She is a credentialed secondary English teacher with over twelve years of teaching experience. Theresa is a formative developmental assets builder, an inspiring and effective trainer of teachers, and an innovative designer of a wide variety of youth empowerment art programs, community dance and percussion workshops, teacher training programs, and sixteen community mural constructions. Theresa is a talented musician, dancer, painter, and writer. Through her philosophy of teaching through being, she loves giving others the permission to be themselves, enjoy themselves, be wild and crazy and laugh, and take risks to try new things. Theresa has pursued a life-long study of visual art and music. Highlights include her study of costume design and construction; classical voice, guitar and piano; and Brazilian dance and percussion. She performs with Suco Brazilian percussion ensemble and Hipnautica Dance Company.