Teacher bios

Sheila Ali

Director of the IFCI, Curator, an Art and DIY tech instructor, and Maker. Sheila holds a PA Teaching Certificate for Visual Art (K-12), a BA from Brandeis University, and an MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College. For over twenty years she has worked both as a teacher and education coordinator in places such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Spring Valley High School in Las Vegas and the University of Pittsburgh. Her artwork and films have been shown at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Las Vegas Museum of Modern Art, the Three Rivers Film Festival, and many other venues. Sheila has received various grants for her educational programming such as from the Grable Foundation and The Pittsburgh Foundation with support from the Sprout Fund as part of the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum Makeshop Maker Micro grant program. Sheila has participated, on behalf of the IFCI, at a number of Maker Faires, including doing her stand-up act My Journey as a Maker: Reflections of the Artist as a Child (available for booking), and Miniature Plumbing at the Maker Faire in San Francisco. She has also taught art as the A in STEAM of Pittsburgh Public Schools, where she created a 35 foot/3-story tall mixed-media replica of a Monarch Butterfly Tree as a school-wide project. Sheila has been active in the Penn Avenue Arts District since its humble beginnings.

Peter “Rocky” Cristobol

Since 1946—for the last 70 years—Kraynick's bike shop has been a unique home for bike lovers of all likes. Whether they’re Pittsburgh natives, college students, or transplants from distant lands, whether they’re newcomers who don’t know how to hold a wrench or seasoned gear heads, Kraynick’s is a welcome home to anyone and everyone, home to all who ride and all who want to ride. It’s a place where people from all walks of life come together because of the bicycle.

My name is Rocky Cristobal. I am one of Jerry's friends, and I have been a volunteer at the bike shop for the past four years. I am now the the keeper of the shop. I work to keep prices low, to continue to let patrons have free access to the workspace and tools, and to keep the free advice and mechanical knowledge spreading to future generations of Pittsburgh riders.

Katy Dement

Offered her expertise as a papermaker to educate the public in the metro Atlanta school systems and as an independent art educator with Young Audiences / Woodruff Art Center, Georgia Council for the Arts and other community outlets since 1990. While continuing her independent studies in fiber and costume design, she attended Georgia State University majoring in Art History and psychology. Currently DeMent continues her studies in printmaking, paper making, independently working on welding and sculpture. She is an obsessive gardener and beekeeper too. These natural influences are reflected in her work. DeMent’s achievements are varied and numerous she continues to show her work at art festivals and galleries. In 2009 she was awarded Best of Show, Kentucky Festival held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Jerome “Chu” Charles

Jerome "Chu" Charles found himself in front of classrooms only after going to jail for graffiti. Wanting to make good use of his time going forward, he decided to use skills to empower people to make legal art, that we are all capable of. While he went to school for photography, his interest in cartooning and animation entourage him to learn how to draw, which is his current focus. Jerome hopes to continue developing his skills and surrounding himself with positive creative people going forward.

Greg Sinn

Greg is an athlete, activist, and musician living in Wilkinsburg. He enjoys teaching art and music to students of all ages. Greg has over a decade of professional experience in education, performance, and political organizing in the region. He believes that exploring our gifts is a critical part of becoming more fully human. Aside from teaching and studying martial arts, Greg practices healing energy work which he enjoys sharing freely with those in need.

Michelle Soto (aka Miss Ella Campaign)

A fashion forward herbalist, educator, gardener and dog lover. As a former public school and Montessori teacher she now works in school and community gardens as a Garden Educator with Grow Pittsburgh.  She loves guiding students to self discovery and nurturing their natural talents.  She also founded and runs Cutting Root Farm and Apothecary, an organic flower and herb farm in Butler PA.  She grows over one hundred different kinds of herbs to make tea blends, tinctures, and body care products.  As a member of the Stonefruit Community Herbalists, Michelle is committed to strengthening our community’s health by offering herbal medicine to those for whom alternative health practice might be out of reach. Michelle believes that by introducing children to the magical worlds of plants they can help heal themselves and others with plant magic.

Gunner / Sara LaBuff

Gunner is a Pittsburgh-born writer/performer who twists, flips, and clowns around in The Flippin' Circus and ThaCrowBats.  She co-wrote, -directed, and -starred in the circus play Sue Anne's Funeral, and is currently collaborating on a new circus play showing at Braddock Carnegie Library on October 19th and 20th, "Feathered Fooliage", showing at  October 2019. 

In addition to workshopping partner acrobatics with kids and adults at The Children's Museum and the Pittsburgh Maker Faire, Gunner has taught circus acrobatics and clowning to kids at Providence Family Support Center and the Irma Freeman Center.

Hong Zhao

Hong is from Wuhan, China. She is the Deputy General Editor of “Children's Art”, a magazine in China. She has been invited for several years now to teach Chinese arts at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination. Zhao Hong graduated from Hubei Institute of Fine Arts. Besides oil painting, she is also interested in exploring art forms such as watercolor, Chinese painting, cartooning and Chinese calligraphy. Her portrait sketches are lively and vivid. Her watercolors, often of subjects from nature, are fine and delicate. She feel that her life and art are affected by the Chinese Taoist concept of harmony with nature and the Vipassana spirit.