UCET 2025

For the past ten years, Georgiana Kennedy Simpson has guided 7th through 12th grade Visual Arts, Student Council, and Sterling Scholars at Whitehorse High School in the Navajo Nation. At her school, Georgiana serves as a technology coach, mentor teacher, and Civics Capacity Coach. She has been Whitehorse Teacher of the Year twice and received the 2020 Sorenson Legacy Award for Excellence in Secondary Arts Education. More recently, Georgiana was awarded the 2022 Utah Art Education Association (UAEA) Secondary Art Teacher of the Year, 2022 Youth Art Month Teacher of the Year, and the 2023 National Art Education Association (NAEA) Pacific Region Secondary Art Educator. Also in 2023, Georgiana received an Honors in Education Award the annual Show Up For Teachers conference. She is a Utah Teacher Fellow, UAEA Advocacy Chair/Awards Chair/President-Elect, and San Juan School District Fine Arts Team Lead. She has a Master of Arts in Teaching Fine Arts from University of Utah.

Previous life iterations include founding the Bluff Arts Festival, serving as President and Education Chair of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association and writing two books, Navajo Ceremonial Baskets: Sacred Symbols, Sacred Space and A Guide to Indian Jewelry of the Southwest as well as co-authoring Collecting Authentic Indian Arts and Crafts: Traditional Works of the Southwest. When not making or teaching art, Georgiana loves spending time with her family, exploring the world’s multi-scapes and loving her two rescue dogs.