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Annika Nelson
Senior Director of Craft and Glass Centers
Annika Nelson, M.A., has her Masters in Education with a focus on Dual Language Education from San Diego State University. She has worked as a professional artist, arts educator, and arts administrator for her entire career, most recently as the Director of the Department of Arts, Humanities, and Languages and Digital Arts at UC San Diego Extension.
While majoring in studio art at UC Santa Cruz, Nelson also studied at the renowned university of applied arts, Hochschule fur Angewandete Kunst in Vienna, Austria. After graduating, she turned her focus to arts education and illustration. At the Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños in San Diego, she created and managed numerous classes and art-making activities for young people in her role as art director.
Nelson has illustrated a number of books including "Folk Wisdom of Mexico "(Chronicle Books, 1994), "Canto Familiar" (Harcourt Brace, 1995), and "Colors of Me" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2011). Her work has appeared in numerous publications for diverse companies and organizations, such as Patagonia, Elite Racing, McMillan Companies, Aesthetics Inc. and the Arthritis Foundation - San Diego Chapter. Her growing list of public art installations includes the interactive murals at Rady Children's Hospital Clinics and a sculpture series at the Tidelands Park in Coronado, California. Her latest installation includes three whimsical bicycle racks along 101 in Leucadia, California.
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Alexander Rosenberg
Assistant Director of the Glass Center
Alexander Rosenberg is an artist, educator and writer based in San Diego. He received a Master of Science in Visual Studies from MIT and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in glass from Rhode Island School of Design. His work is rooted in the study of glass as a material, in conjunction with broad interdisciplinary practice crossing over into many other media and research areas.
Alexander pursues his art practice with artist residencies, teaching, performances and exhibitions locally and internationally. He is the recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship (2025), the 2012 International Glass Prize, an Awesome Foundation Grant (2019), The Sheldon Levin Memorial Residency at the Tacoma Museum of Glass, and a Windgate Fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center. He has attended artist residencies at The Arctic Circle Residency, The MacDowell Colony, Wheaton Arts, Urban Glass, Vermont Studio Center, StarWorks, Pilchuck Glass School, GlazenHuis in Belgium, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Worcester Craft Center. His writing has been published in Glass Quarterly Magazine, The Glass Art Society Journal, and the Art Blog. He is a Corning Fellow, a founding member of Hyperopia Projects (2010 - 2018), headed the glass program at University of the Arts (2010 - 2017), and was an artist member of Vox Populi gallery (2012 - 2015). He was cast on the Netflix Series, Blown Away in 2018 and taught at Salem Community College from 2017 - 2022. He was the Glass Studio Director at Wheaton Arts from 2022 - 2025 and is currently the Assistant Director of the UC San Diego Glass Center.
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Christopher Moore
Glass Center Technician
Chris Moore has worked in the field of studio glass for more than thirty years. With experience as a full-time artistic glassblower and studio equipment technician, he brings a deep well of technical knowledge and hands-on expertise to the Glass Center. He has studied glasswork throughout the United States and internationally, and considers his role as Glass Center Technician as his dream position.
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Marina Bogdanova
Business Manager
Meet the Team
Staff
Course Instructors
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Cedric Mitchell
Glass Blowing Instructor
Cedric Mitchell is a multidisciplinary designer, glass artist, and cultural tastemaker working at the intersection of craft, utility, and visual culture. His work is rooted in handmaking but reaches beyond any single medium. He designs objects that carry energy, emotion, and intention. Pieces meant to live with people, not sit behind glass.
Mitchell calls his design language, "Modern Funk.” It is defined by bold color, playful geometry, and confident forms balanced by structure and refinement. He draws inspiration from music, movement, architecture, and everyday rituals. Whether working on lighting, furniture, or collectible objects, his goal remains the same. To create work that feels alive, expressive, and deeply human.
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Max Kropczynski
Flameworking Instructor
Maximilian Kropczynski is a San Diego-based glass artist and educator. He began flameworking at the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Craft Center in 2014 and later earned his AAS in Scientific Glass Technology from Salem Community College in 2021. Over his career, Max has worked with a variety of glass studios and companies in both production and artistic roles. He now focuses on his independent artwork while continuing to share his craft through teaching.
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Stephanie Close
Cold-Working Instructor
Stephanie Close is a Master Fine Artist and Artisan located in La Mesa, California, with a deep-seated passion for sculpture fabrication and education in the arts. Born in Voorhees, New Jersey, she cultivated her artistic talents through a robust education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Glass from the California College of the Arts, followed by a Master of Arts in Education with a focus on Adult Education and Training from the University of Phoenix.
With over 15 years of experience in professional glassworking with a focus in the sculpture field, Stephanie currently serves as a coldworker at Barrio Glassworks in Carlsbad, where she excels in producing high-quality art glass sculptures. She has collaborated with notable glass artists and studios in the San Diego and San Francisco Bay Area, including Nic McGuire Studios, Tom Marosz Studios, and Latchezar Boyadjive Studios. Her background also includes precision coldworking in the production of commercial grade optical scientific glass at Rayotek Scientific.
Stephanie has received multiple awards and scholarships, including Honorable Mention at the Art Glass Association of Southern California Annual Members Exhibition, and the prestigious Saxe Half Partner Scholarship Award at the Pilchuck Glass School. She has participated in a variety of exhibitions, both group and solo, displaying her work at prominent venues such as Fallbrook Art Center and Public Glass gallery.
Throughout her career, Stephanie has dedicated herself to fostering creativity and education in the arts. As an active member of the Art Glass Association of Southern California, she remains committed to inspiring others through her artistic endeavors and teaching experiences, always seeking innovative opportunities to enrich her craft and contribute to the artistic community.
“Make Your Own” Glass Experience Instructors
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Tanner Miller
Studio Intern
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Abdullah Alfawaz
Instructor
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Jacob Ennis
Instructor
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Mary Catherine Marino
Instructor