Sharon (Feng 冯）
About Sharon
I am an artist, writer, and independent educator based in rural central Vermont. As we experience significant shared environmental shifts, connecting with the skills of global citizenship and collaborative problem solving will be imperative in all areas of study and work. I teach art, pottery, meditation, yoga, philosophy, humanities, and world language as integrated skills. It is no longer the case, if it ever was true at all, that experts in any field can work in isolation. Artists need to know science and keeping the language center of the brain open and flexible is important for connection and communication across fields of expertise and in a global intellectual arena.
I believe that neurodiversity is just as vital to our health and survival as biodiversity. As a teacher, it is my goal to create spaces where each individual is able to thrive while being an integral part of the whole. Inclusion means giving everyone an opportunity to be fully present as they are. It does not mean pretending that we are blind to differences. I seek to find the strengths of my students and colleagues and give completely of myself to the communities of learning that I belong to.
Areas of Expertise
Anthropology
- Global Cultures
- Art and Archaeology
- Linguistics
- Social Theory and Philosophy
- Medical Anthropology/Global Public Health
- Sociology
- Colonialism
- Public Health Biology
- Religion
Humanities
- Art History: Art and Architecture of Eastern and Central Asian
- East Asian Literature/Classical and Contemporary
- World Languages: Mandarin Chinese, French, and Uighur
- Economics: Micro, Macro, and Global
- Political Science
- International Relations
- Non-Western and Comparative History
Fine and Healing Arts
- Ceramic Arts
- Porcelain Residency in Jingdezhen, PRC
- Professional Writer
- Zines
- Fiber Arts: Knitting, Crochet, Embroidery
- Book Making and Collage
- Illustration
- Painting
- Somatic Movement Therapy
- Yoga and Meditation
Academic Degrees and Graduate Work Post High School
- University of Pittsburgh, MA in Cultural Anthropology
- CUNY Graduate Center, Coursework in Anthropology
- University of Pennsylvania, MA in East Asian Studies/Chinese
- University of Pennsylvania, BA in East Asian Studies
Other Education
- Sanbao International Ceramics Residency, Jingdezhen China
- Vajra Yoga Teacher Training with Jill Satterfield
- DONA Birth Doula Training
- Vipassana, Insight Meditation with Bhante Pema of the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center
- Body, Mind, Movement Workshops and Trainings in Somatic Movement Therapy with Mark Chandlee Taylor
- Beijing University, People’s Republic of China, undergraduate work in Mandarin Chinese
- National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan:
Anthropology, Mandarin Chinese, Economics, Studies in Art History at the National Palace Museum
Experience Highlights: Yoga and Meditation
- Thirty-plus years of experience practicing and teaching yoga and meditation in studios, hospitals, senior centers, adult daycare centers, community centers, and outdoors in nature.
- Owned and managed a yoga studio, Yoga Matrika, with two-locations in Pittsburgh, PA for almost eight-years. Over these years, I managed a rotating staff of over twenty-yoga teachers.
- Created Yoga Matrika Prenatal Yoga and published an Ebook, “Matrika Prenatal”
- Yoga Alliance Member at the E-RYT level for eight-years with a registered Yoga Matrika 300-hour teacher training program for five-years.
- Designed a Matrika Prenatal Yoga teacher training program offered in-person and online and worked with over 100 teachers all over the world to learn this Tibetan Buddhist yoga-based prenatal yoga program.
- Started the first prenatal yoga program at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA
- Designed a a childbirth education program called “Dynamic Childbirth” and taught childbirth preparation classes, workshops, and programs including Mom and Baby Postnatal classes for over five-years.
Experience Highlights: Teaching
- Mandarin Chinese Instruction in Vermont for 6-12 grades at the Mount Mansfield Ski Club and Academy in Stowe and the Orchard Valley Waldorf School.
- K-6 French instruction in Vermont at Warren Elementary School, Waitsfield Elementary School, and Orchard Valley Waldorf School.
- French instructor for grades 6-10 at Mount Mansfield Ski Club and Academy in Stowe, VT.
- Higher Education Experience: Adjunct Professor for Japanese Culture, Four-Field Anthropology, and Core 9/Comparative Non-Western History at Brooklyn College, CUNY. Adjunct Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Queens College, CUNY. Instructor of Chinese Culture and Civilization at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.
- Art Educator for MakerSphere teaching community-based pottery classes for adults, teens, and children.
- Managed pottery studio including equipment maintenance and all kiln firings at Mount Mansfield Ski Club and Academy for four-years. Taught grades 6-12 sculpture, wheel throwing, and handbuilding classes.
- Four-years as a substitute teacher in the Harwood Unified Union School District.
Experience Highlights: Non-Profit Development and Grant Writing
- Federal Grant Manager for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh PA. Managed H1 visa program for visiting international scholars and experts. Coordinated with staff scientists on applications and reporting for NSF and other government grant programs.
- Grant writer for Asia Society Museum in New York. Worked with Museum Directors, Exhibition Curators, Scholars, and Education and Cultural Programs departments to manage and write government grants for NEH, NEA, DOE (Department of Energy), private foundations, New York City and State funding, and US Department of Education.
- Director of Development for Kin On a non-profit social service and health care provider for Chinese families in Seattle, Washington.
Trainings, Memberships, and Other Work Experience
Memoir Writing workshop with Marge Piercy and Ira Wood at Omega Institute.
I have been a personal assistant working for an entrepreneur and social investor working in The Dakota building in New York and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Receptionist for a structural engineering firm and an architect in Philadelphia and insurance company in Seattle.
Cashier experience as an employee at the East End Food Co-Op in Pittsburgh and as a member-owner working at the Park Slope Food Co-Op in Brooklyn.
English tutor in Taiwan for private clients and as a Grade1-5 English teacher at the Dongda School in Taiyuan, PRC.
Ceramics studio member at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Blockhouse Studio in Waitsfield, VT, MakerSphere in Waterbury Center, VT, Pottery School at Pioneer Square in Seattle, VT. I have participated in pottery workshops facilitated by Mame McKee (in person at MakerSphere), Lakyn Bowman, Kirsty Kash, and Warren MacKenzie. Current member of Naomi Clement’s MakerSpark group.
