Leslie Kimiko Ward is a movement-based teaching artist with a passion for leveraging her creative skills to bridge resource gaps in education. Classrooms from Syracuse, NY to the Bering Strait region of AK have participated in piloting her movement-based, culturally-responsive online learning resources. Rural education research on Leslie's work, conducted by Dr. Jesse Longhurst of Southern Oregon University, has been presented at several academic conferences, including AERA's national 2017 summit in San Antonio.
Leslie has served on faculty with University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Dance Theatre, Alaska State Council on the Arts Artists in Schools program, the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program, worked in a residency capacity with numerous Alaskan schools and community organizations, and held multiple board and advisory positions in the state of Alaska. Leslie currently resides in Oregon, where she is pursuing her Master's in Teaching, hoping to bring her love of movement and teaching into the elementary classroom full time. |