Lisa Jimenez, a middle school art educator at RESA, has been named the 2026 Middle Level Art Educator of the Year by the Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA).

Each year, the IAEA recognizes outstanding art, design and media educators across Illinois for their excellence, service and leadership. The IAEA Awards and Scholarship Committee selected Jimenez for her exemplary professional performance, service and leadership in art education.

Jimenez is a Rockford native and artist who is in her 23rd year of teaching art. She has spent the past five years teaching grades at RESA. Throughout her career, she has focused on helping students discover how the arts can create opportunities and change lives.

“I believe all students deserve to feel and experience joy while having a safe space to create,” Jimenez said. “I strive daily to provide students with a quality art education program that builds confidence, problem-solving skills, creative thinking and technical art skills.”

Her artwork explores the relationship between organic forms and the tranquil spaces they occupy, drawing on traditional still-life studies while taking a contemporary approach to themes of time and memory.

Jimenez earned a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Northern Illinois University and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from St. Xavier University. She also remains an active artist and member of the Rockford arts community, regularly exhibiting her mixed-media paintings and collages in solo and group shows.