Tanya has had two professional loves all her life:  teaching and being creative. As a young girl, she found her calling in education when she taught her brother math. She went on to earn her Ph.D, teach in college and high school, and head the Southern Division for Training and Development of the largest bank in Arizona. She spearheaded the creation of Money and You, a program taught in middle schools for many years, coached the Junior Achievement Bank Company to second place twice and was repeatedly published in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. She has also been president of various education related organizations. Tanya used her educational interests during this time, teaching and creating training programs and materials both in banking and in the school system. Her goal is and has always been to make learning fun and easy to understand and this goal drives her to continually look to better herself as she seeks to perfect learning for others.

Once retired, Tanya found her creativity drawn to an interest she had since 9th grade – silversmithing. After taking several classes, she was introduced to Precious Metal Clay (PMC®) and hasn’t looked back. Tanya loves continually learning and sharing what she learns. As she continues to grow in her metal clay explorations, Tanya has received recognition for her work in galleries, the Alchemists Guide to Creativity, at competitions, and in the 2020 calendar of the Alliance for Metal Clay Arts Worldwide, She is a certified metal clay artist with Camp Metal Clay and Rio Grande and is certified in Art Clay® by Art Clay World USA. Her work is showcased on her website, and at Elegant Beads Gallery where she offers classes upon request.