About Us • Teaching Artists
Creative Mentors
Our teaching artists co-lead programs and workshops, providing mentorship to teens in art-making and life skills.
Artists as Mentors
At Arts In Reach (AIR), teaching artists are mentors, collaborators, and creative role models.
More than skill-builders, they support young people in finding confidence, voice, and a sense of belonging through creative expression.
Teaching artists work alongside AIR staff and Youth Program Leaders to design and lead engaging, arts-based experiences for youth ages 10–18. Programs are rooted in creative youth development and emphasize care, curiosity, collaboration, and youth voice.
Jordan Raymond
Performing Arts - Read Bio
Jordan is a New Hampshire based actor, writer and performer whose recent performances include The Laramie Project, Romeo and Juliet, 12 Angry Jurors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Thirst for Freedom. Her first short play, NBD, was recently workshopped at New Hampshire Theatre Project after an immersive Incubator Workshop through Dive In Productions and is currently being developed into a One Act through Juilliard’s Extension Playwriting program. She has been a theater educator for over 20 years and loves spending her time watching others express themselves creatively. Jordan proudly graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) with a degree in Musical Theatre and is currently pursuing her Master’s for Educational Psychology at the University of Southern Maine.
Julie Lawson
Visual Arts - Read Bio
Julie grew up in Seattle WA, but has called New England her home for the last six years. When she loaded her life into her car, she had the choice of bringing her guitar or her sewing machine. The sewing machine won out, which is probably for the best, because she is now fully sewing obsessed.
In 2022 she graduated from MassArt with a certificate in Fashion Design. Shortly after graduating she competed in Project Upcycle, the sustainable fashion competition based out of Portsmouth, NH.
Julie has been working towards setting up her own sewing studio, where she hopes to create one-of-a-kind garments and accessories, using techniques such as natural dyeing, block printing, and screen printing. Additionally, Julie teaches sewing, serger, and longarm quilting classes at Portsmouth Fabric Company.
Katrina Pratt
Visual Arts - Read Bio
Katrina has been dancing and weaving stories for as long as she can remember; performing for the rocks and trees as a small child and eventually joining the circus in New York, building giant puppets and swinging from theater rafters above the audience. She has been working with children for more than 20 years, incorporating storytelling, movement and puppetry into educational therapy and alternative forms of teaching. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Education and Human Development.
She graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in medical anthropology, focusing on birth and child development across cultures. Her interest in evolutionary biology, social dynamics, and the relationship between play and learning informs the way she shapes curriculum. Stories are a huge part of this – inspiring critical thinking, collaboration, the processing of challenging experiences, and igniting a sense of wonder. She lives between Colorado and New Hampshire dancing in trees, making potions, puppets, and honing her archery skills.
Meghan Samson
Visual Arts - Read Bio
Meghan grew up in Southern New Hampshire. Most of her early childhood she lived
on a farm where her parents grew vegetables, raised chickens, and tapped their
maple trees. Meghan loved playing with her brother and sister in the fields and
woods pretending to be animals both real and imagined, or characters from their
imaginations. This upbringing played a crucial role in her interests in the handmade
and helped shape her as an artist from a very young age. She cannot remember a
time when she did not make things with her hands or have the desire to tell a story
through artmaking.
Meghan received her BFA in clay and sculpture from the University of New Hampshire and later received her MFA from Boston University with a concentration in sculpture. She has been teaching art for the last 15 years and loves nothing more than spending time cultivating creative exploration with each and every artist she is able to work with. She is currently an adjunct professor of ceramics at the University of New Hampshire, and teaches and works out of her studio MudCity Clay in Rochester, New Hampshire. There, she is able to work with many different clay artists and invites organizations, such as Arts In Reach, to study and explore clay in new and exciting ways. Meghan lives in the wild woods of Barrington with her husband and young son, and their crazy dog Rita.
Viridian Soule
Performing Arts - Read Bio
Viridian Soule is an actor, musician, and writer from San Diego, who has recently moved to the New Hampshire area. They have a Bachelor’s degree in theatre arts from California State University Fullerton, and have spent the past five years teaching film and media to adults with disabilities. In addition to their career in performing and education, Viridian is also a huge fan of board games, card games, trivia games, and all sorts of other nerdy hobbies.
“Working with AIR refreshes my love of music and reminds me why I decided on this career path.”