Joannza is a Toronto native and daughter to a pair of audacious Chinese immigrants first taught her the value of creativity, particularly when resources are limited. Over the last 10 years, she has been able to share her love for arts through teaching in various educational settings in multiple cities including Toronto, Providence and Los Angeles. In 2010, Joannza joined the Inner-city Arts team as a teaching artist for the animation department. Over the past 6 years she has expanded the offerings to meet the growing needs of our student body. Joannza in collaboration with other teaching artists has brought the Graphic Design department, The Multimedia Portfolio development workshops and the Heart and Soul Youth Artist Collective to our community. Through these workshops, she is able to create dynamic spaces to support her students’ process in finding their confidence and their unique voice through the vehicles of animation, media arts and graphic design. As her students engage in the process of “bringing their art to life” they also learn essential life skills such as critical thinking, experimentation and collaboration. Joannza has a B.F.A in Film/Animation/Video from the Rhode Island School of Design and a M.A. in education from USC.