Associate Professor, Arcadia University
Founder and Board Chair, A Step Up Academy
Karen Misher is a professor, artist, mother and advocate. Beginning her career in higher education in 1994, at what was then Beaver College, Karen now holds the rank of Associate Professor at Arcadia University and is an active member of the full-time members of the university community.
Karen’s work investigates the boundaries between jewelry and sculpture and is propelled by the narrative stories of her life’s journey. Jewelry’s nature as a wearable art form allows for deeply personal expression. The wearer’s intimacy with the work itself creates a certain sense of energy with the object. For the audience who comes in contact with that person, they are observers – voyeuristic in their glimpse of the work as it moves by or pauses in front of them. Those moments of visual interaction allows for an exchange of private and public, and opens opportunity for discourse.
Her passion for the creative arts and education is surpassed only by her devotion to her twin sons. Diagnosed with autism at the age of two, Karen has dedicated herself to meeting the challenges that come with this complicated diagnosis. After years of managing therapy programs aimed at their development, Karen turned her energies to the complexities of education for special needs children. Surrounded by many experts in the field of autism treatment, Karen forged the creation of a new school for children on the autism spectrum. A Step Up Academy, located in Jenkintown PA, utilizes evidence-based practices in classroom theory, and bridges the social skills challenges for these children with integrative programming and community partnerships for meaningful inclusion opportunities.
Karen lives with her husband and children in the Mt Airy section of Philadelphia where she maintains her art studio, garden and many beloved pets.