WELCOME THE 2024-2025 EMERGING ADMINISTRATIVE FELLOWS

The NCAA Fellowship includes a one-year membership in NCAA and a waiver of the NCAA conference registration fees. In addition, NCAA Fellows are matched with a seasoned NCAA member who serves as a mentor before and at the conference. Candidates for the fellowship are nominated by another arts administrator and have an endorsement from an administrator at their home institution.

 

 

Ashley Feagin
Mentor: dee miller

Ashley Feagin explores stories through photographs, installations, performances, and collaborations. Feagin’s work stems from an endless stream of internal questions. Feagin’s curiosities are filtered through her queer identity and Southern upbringing; she reimagines failure and questions all possibilities by embracing any medium that makes the most sense.

Feagin’s work is featured in several books published by Vermont Photography Workplace: “Poetic Objects: Still Life As Subject”,” Home... is Where the Camera Is”, and “Redefining the Self Portrait”. Her work was featured in the traveling group exhibition; “Spinning Yarns: Photographic Storytellers”. She has presented lectures for Society for Photographic Education and the Mid-American College Art Association at both their regional and national conferences. Feagin received her BA in Photography from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 2009 and her MFA from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, in the spring of 2012. She is an active member of the Society for Photographic Education, the Texas Photographic Society, and the Houston Center of Photography. She is an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Art and Art History Department at Albion College in Albion, Michigan.

 

Rebecca Finley
Mentor: Christopher McNulty

Rebecca Finley is a Professor of Art at Sam Houston State University. She received her M.F.A. in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000 and her B.A. in Media Arts from the University of Tennessee in 1997. Her photographic work deals with memory, loss, and identity. She has exhibited work both nationally and internationally. Finley currently serves as the chair of the Department of Art at SHSU.

 

 

 

Lauren Kalman
Mentor: Jeni Mokren

Lauren Kalman is a visual artist based in Detroit, whose practice is rooted in craft, sculpture, video, photography, and performance. Kalman completed her PhD in Practice-led Research from the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University. She earned a MFA in Art and Technology from the Ohio State University and a BFA with a focus in Metals from Massachusetts College of Art.

Her work is in the permanent collection of the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Renwick Gallery at Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Detroit Institute of Art, Museum of Arts and Design, and the Korean Ceramics Foundation. In 2020 she received the Françoise van den Bosch Award for her career’s impact on the jewelry field, in 2022 she received the Raphael Founders Prize in Glass from Contemporary for Craft, and in 2023 she was named a Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow.

She is currently a Professor and the Chair of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Wayne State University in Detroit.

 

 

Daniel Kariko
Mentor: Laura Vandenburgh

Daniel Kariko, based at East Carolina University in Greenville, occupies a unique position as an educator, accomplished artist, and an academic leader in the School of Art and Design. In his administrative capacity, Kariko has implemented transformative initiatives aimed at enhancing the undergraduate recruitment process and refining the school's curriculum. His strategic efforts have not only bolstered student retention but also streamlined student advising processes, ensuring a more supportive and efficient academic environment. Simultaneously, Kariko's artwork explores environmental and political themes in landscapes and cultural interpretations of inhabited spaces. He has undertaken extensive photographic projects in Louisiana wetlands, and his native Serbia, documenting the aftermath of the Balkan Wars with poignant narratives of resilience and transformation.                                                                         
Kariko's artistic achievements have garnered international acclaim, exhibited at venues such as the Noorderlicht Photofestival in the Netherlands, Royal Albert Hall in London, and The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, NM. His work appears in leading publications like Nature, National Geographic Proof, and Wired, blending artistic expression with socio-environmental commentary.

As an author, Kariko published Aliens Among Us: Extraordinary Images of Ordinary Insects (Liveright, 2020), showcasing his innovative approach to natural subjects. 

Educated at Nicholls State University and Arizona State University, Kariko earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in studio arts, specializing in photography. His dual roles demonstrate a holistic commitment to advancing arts education and institutional leadership, enriching both artistic and educational landscapes.

 

 

Angela Mircsov
Mentor: Jonathon Russell

Angela Mircsov is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Art at Valley City State University in Valley City, ND. She previously served as Gallery Director. Her primary art mediums are drawing and painting, but Angela has also embraced digital media in recent years, broadening her artistic vision. Her passion lies in nurturing students' artistic aspirations and guiding them to explore their creative ideas.

Angela has participated in Artist Residences across the United States throughout her career, enriching her artistic practice and perspective. Her contributions to the field have been recognized in publications from Starry Night's "Artist to Look Out for." She is a member of Foundation Art Theory and Education. She has shared projects she has created for classes on the website publication: “What do We Do Now Art.”  In 2020, Angela was honored with the Junior Faculty Excellence Award at Valley City State University, a testament to her dedication and impact within academia.

Angela holds an MFA in Studio Art from Lindenwood University and a BFA in Art Management from Millikin University. Through her art, teaching, and scholarly contributions, she continues to inspire and influence, fostering a vibrant local and national artistic community.

 

Randi O'Brien
Mentor: Hasan Elahi

Randi O'Brien is a ceramic artist, administrator, writer, and professor. O'Brien's degrees include an MFA in ceramics and an MA in art history from the University of Montana, a BFA from Montana State University in Bozeman, and a BA with K-12 teaching licensure from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. O'Brien is currently the associate professor of ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry for Irvine Valley College in Orange County, California. Beyond academia, O'Brien is currently the executive director and editor of Studio Potter Journal.

O'Brien has curated numerous exhibitions across the United States and presents her research at conferences and for organizations, including NCECA, the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, The Women as Change Makers Summit, Montana Education Association, Xuchang International University, Ceramics Ireland's International Ceramic Festival, among others.

O'Brien's research and writings have been published in Ceramics MonthlyCeramics Art and Perception: TECHNICALCeramics Ireland, and numerous catalogs. O'Brien exhibits internationally and across the United States; selected locations include Kilkenny, Ireland; Valparaiso, Chile; Alberta, Canada; Xuchang, China; and throughout the US.  

A descendant of early Hispano settlers and Indigenous American ancestry on her maternal side, paired with a paternal heritage of 18th-century English settlers, O'Brien celebrates the different expressions of what it means to perpetually move between cultures and her multiracial identity.

 

Barbara Campbell Thomas
Mentor: Vagner Whitehead

Barbara Campbell Thomas is the Director of the School of Art at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she is also a Full Professor of Art. 

Barbara Campbell Thomas is a nationally recognized painter with an active record of solo and group exhibitions.  Her paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States, including the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, The Painting Center, the Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, and the North Carolina Museum of Art.  She has been an artist-in-residence at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, the Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture, the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.  Barbara Campbell Thomas is a recipient of a North Carolina Artists Fellowship.  Her studio practice was recently featured in Art of The State: Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina, published by UNC Press.

Barbara Campbell Thomas earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the Pennsylvania State University.  She is a Fellow of the Yale Summer School of Music and Art.