List of 3 members.

• 

  Ms. Lisa McNealus '79 

  Art Department Chair

  (802) 869-6251

  University of Vermont - BA

  Bio

  Lisa McNealus has taught in the Visual Arts Department at Vermont Academy since 1999  and is currently the Department Chair. She graduated from VA when both the arts and the number of girls on campus were in short supply. Now she is grateful for all of the fantastic progress that has occurred over the decades, both with arts offerings and a range of students!

  While soccer and nordic skiing have long been her thing, she was a founding member and captain of the girl’s soccer team while she was a student at Vermont Academy'. She is now working with the Equestrian program, which is another life love.

  Before becoming a teacher, she worked as a Commercial Photographer’s Assistant on Madison Avenue and as the Director of Development at Burr and Burton Academy. At Burr and Burton, she helped the school develop its first large-scale campaign and reach its first million-dollar donation.

  When possible, she keeps up with her artwork and is represented at the Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls. She enjoys spending time with her two grown children and two grown stepchildren. She also loves to read, grow flowers, and generally remain active. She lives with her husband, just a short drive from campus.
• 

  Mr. Ryan Burch 

  Ceramics Teacher / Assistant Coach, Snowboarding / Security

  NYSCC at Alfred University - BFA

  Bio

  Ryan Burch began teaching at Vermont Academy in 2016. Previous to this, Ryan received his BFA with a concentration in ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. After graduating, he interned for a potter and gallery owner at the Artstream Nomadic Gallery and Harvey Meadows Gallery in Aspen, Colorado, before moving to Vermont to teach at the Academy.
  
  

  Ryan’s value of handmade objects and interest in contemporary craft stems from a childhood in which his parents operated and maintained a family lead glass-blowing business. Since 2015, he has managed and grown his own business out of his personal studio located on VA’s campus. Ryan’s passion for teaching stems from his desire to share his experience and values with a younger generation. He can directly share his own personal pottery practice with his students by allowing students to visit his studio and giving them a window into the life of a craftsperson.
  
  

  Vermont Academy has been able to allow Ryan to pursue both of his passions in one location. The campus has allowed him to progress his personal studio practice while providing him the opportunity to teach and share his knowledge and excitement of craft with his students. Both of these seemingly separate passions and opportunities can be intertwined on Vermont Academy’s campus, which is incredibly beneficial to Ryan, his students, and campus culture as a whole.
• 

  Timothy Velsor 

  Digital Arts Faculty

  Tufts University - MAT
  Tisch School of the Arts - BFA

  Bio

  Timothy Velsor is a member of the Arts Faculty at VA where he teaches Digital Arts. He also serves as the Freeski Coach. He is a graduate of Burr & Burton Academy and grew up in Winhall, Vermont, at the bottom of Stratton Mountain. 

  
  

  After high school, Tim attended New York University’s Tisch School of The Arts, where he received a BFA in Film and Television. He became a projectionist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and later spent three beautifully chaotic seasons working for Saturday Night Live. During this time, he caught the teaching bug while working as the filmmaking instructor at The Putney School Summer Arts Programs. This led to an MAT program in Arts Education at Tufts University and The School of The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. 

  
  

  Tim has been working in various classrooms across the East for the last eight years and has spent eight seasons coaching Freeskiing with the Stratton Mountain Winter Sports School, where he built a co-ed program (The Atomic Unicorns) for 8 to 12 year-olds. He maintains an art/poetry/filmmaking practice and could not be more excited to share his passions with the community at Vermont Academy. He is an avid outdoorsman and a dedicated environmentalist who believes in project-based learning with a “do it yourself” emphasis. Tim and his wife, Maureen, have recently welcomed their first child, Milo Velsor, into the world. All of The Velsors (pets included) live on campus as dorm parents in 25 House.