Meet Our Teachers!
King Philip Regional High School Fine Arts Department has a long history of exemplary, nurturing, skilled, and passionate art teachers who know how to take their subject seriously and have fun while doing it!
Shannon Finley Cress
BFA Umass Dartmouth ~ MEd Cambridge College cresss@kingphilip.org
Shannon Finley Cress is an artist, educator, poet and optimistic truth seeker. She is a proud King Philip Alum, Class of 1990, and has been teaching at KP for nearly 30 years! She has raised two incredible children and taught thousands. Love is her superpower. Born and raised in New England, she also spent a good chunk of her childhood in coastal Nova Scotia. Both shaped her love of art, writing, and nature, all of which she combines in her work, hoping to touch your soul and connect with our humanity through the artistry of images and words. As a teacher, she aims to connect with every student and offer tools to help them find their artistic voice and express who they are...what they think, feel, and believe. She was voted "Most Passionate About Their Subject" in 2023.
Take a peek into her portfolio...
Mackenzie McKenney
AS Massasoit Community College ~ BFA/MAED UMass Dartmouth
Mackenzie McKenney is an artist who aims to create and explore materials and processes in her work. She’s a big observer of the world around her, quietly noticing the details that make up her everyday life. She can often be found drawing her students, friends, or family. Being the third of 9 siblings, she has created an empathetic and nurturing presence in her art room, even winning the “Most Welcoming Classroom” in 2023. She began her teaching career here at KP in 2021 and has enjoyed every minute of it. Her intentions are to help students feel capable of their goals, to feel seen and heard,
and happy to be on a path of creativity!
Take a peek into her portfolio...
Jodi Greenleaf
BFA Syracuse University, MAEd Massachusetts College of Art
Jodi Greenleaf has been teaching in the King Philip District for nearly 30 years. She was raised on a Seneca Reservation in Western NY as an only child by a loving mother who encouraged her wild imagination. She is also a dedicated fan of the Buffalo Bills. Along with her passion for teaching, she is the President of The Cornerstone Farm and Rescue in Bellingham, MA. Jodi has become a strong leader in our state in all areas of animal welfare and advocacy. She is a beekeeper, and takes care of over 100 rescued animals (including 11 species) at her farm and is studying to get her wildlife rehabbing license. Her goal in the classroom is to empower students to find their true passion and to look more carefully and compassionately at the world around them. She believes that art remains one of the most powerful tools for changing one’s thoughts, opening new ideas, and helping young students to become strongly connected to their inherent creative intelligence. In her career, she has witnessed the powerful changes art can make in an individual, grounded in the belief that just one new idea can change a person’s perception of the world. Above all, she seeks to impart a sense of vitality and joy, a celebration of the greatest art of all - the art of a life well lived.