A five-year stint as the studio program coordinator for the San Diego Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños opened her eyes to education and its importance to the community and society. She spent her time producing and coordinating activities and classes for the museum’s main audience, the multicultural youth of San Diego.
“Education and art build communication across communities and generations,” Nelson said. She now teaches arts interpretation for COTA (Collaboration of Teachers and Artists), a professional development program for elementary school teachers.
Nelson has illustrated over seven books and her work has appeared in numerous publications. In addition to her published work, Nelson has provided her talents to multiple public art installations ranging from interactive murals at Rady Children's Hospital clinics to a sculpture series at the Tidelands Park in Coronado.
“At this point I really feel that I need a solid foundation in pedagogical theory and practice to really enable me to make a more coherent impact as an educator and a member of the community,” Nelson notes of her studies at SDSU. “We are at such an interesting time with Common Core. We have a unique opportunity to make positive inroads in education.”