December 20, 2025
AATA’s annual awards and honors recognizes the work of art therapists in their communities and as they elevate the profession. Our scholarships highlight and help support the next generation of art therapists.
We celebrated the incredible talents of this year’s award and honor recipients at AATA’s Annual Conference in Portland. Congratulations to our winners for their outstanding work and commitment to advancing the art therapy profession!
We also want to express our gratitude to the Honors, Multicultural, Research, and Scholarship Committees for their invaluable efforts in supporting these awards. If you’re an AATA Member and want to get involved, you can connect with the Committees via MyAATA.
Scholarships
AATA Conference Scholarships
We were proud to offer three student scholarships to attend this year’s conference, which were awarded to:- • Yuliya Semenova, a student at Drexel University originally from Ukraine • Chantel Gates, a student at George Washington University • Ashlee Phillips, a student at the University of Louisville
New Professional Scholarships
Congratulations to:
- • Elizabeth Cho, an artist and art therapist based in Chicago, originally from Minnesota. Her work explores themes of cultural identity and community-rooted mental health work centering Asian American experiences.
• Shanley Swanson, who specializes in addiction recovery and behavioral health including maternal substance use disorders.
• Kadyn Maudlin, who works in a group practice specializing in gender-affirming care, where she serves a majority Medicaid-insured client base. And she was active in the campaign to secure Medicaid coverage for art therapy in Oregon!
Ellen G. Horovitz Spiritual Art Therapy Scholarship
Irene Rosner David Medical Art Therapy Scholarship
The Irene Rosner David Medical Art Therapy Scholarship focuses on understanding the role of the medical art therapist and is available to a student member who is interested in pursuing a position in medical art therapy for clinical practice (such as internship) or research specialization. This year’s winner is Natalia Miro-Gergen. Natalia is pursuing a Master’s in Counseling with a Concentration in Art Therapy at Pennsylvania Western University. Previously, she worked as an Activity Therapist in an in-patient behavioral health hospital.
Laura Greenstone Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Laura Greenstone Memorial Scholarship goes to Taylor Babb, currently pursuing a Master’s in Art Therapy at Lewis & Clark Graduate School in Portland! She is passionate about using creative expression to foster healing and resilience—and combines art, dance, and community engagement in her work.
Myra Levick Scholarship Fund
This year’s Myra Levick Scholarship goes to Evia Fleming, an art therapy graduate student at Florida State University. Her interests are in family-based art therapy practices, having previously worked with children ages 3 to 14, including those on the autism spectrum.
Awards
Best Paper Award
The 2025 Best Paper Award goes to Beatrice Wharldall for her article, Toward Multispecies Mourning: Imagining an Art Therapy for Ecological Grief. Witnessing the devastating impacts of climate change and species loss has left many of us grappling with inexpressible grief for our more-than-human world. The importance of creating therapeutic environments to facilitate ecological grieving is greater than ever.Beatrice is an art therapist and artist from La Trobe University at Naarm/Melbourne, Australia.
Outstanding Applied Creative Practice Award
The Outstanding Applied Creative Practice Award was inspired by the life and work of art therapist, artist, author, and puppet maker, Dr. Lani Gerity Glanville. The award recognizes an art therapist who has made remarkable creative contributions to the profession of art therapy as an active artist.
This year, AATA is proud to present this recognition to Cui Jing. Cui’s work integrates the Daoist principle of Wu-wei into person-centered therapy, introducing a culturally grounded and innovative theoretical lens across clinical and academic settings. She earned a PhD in Art Therapy from Florida State University.
Pearlie Roberson Award
Created in 2000, the Pearlie Roberson Award honors Pearlie Roberson, an African American artist and art therapy client. The award honors Ms. Roberson’s request to “remember me” and supports efforts to “explore, express, connect…” to enhance the multicultural aspects of the therapeutic experience. This year’s award goes to Kim Valldejuli. Kim is a PhD candidate at Drexel University, where she is also a Research Fellow in the Health, Arts, Learning, and Evaluation Lab. Her research explores traditional healing practices in the Caribbean diaspora and their role in decolonizing art therapy. She also is President of the Art Therapy Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
Rawley Silver Research Award
The Rawley Silver Research Award supports art therapy research studies in their proposal stage. AATA is proud to recognize Christine Phang! Christine is a Singaporean artist and art therapist based in Petaluma, California. Her dissertation research is focused on the development and regulation of art therapy in Singapore.
Rising Clinician Award
The Rising Clinician Award focuses on the nominee’s work with clients.
This year, AATA is proud to recognize Sheetal Harpale. Sheetal is an art therapist and mental health professional in India, where she is recognized for her integrative work in mental wellbeing, neuro-aesthetics, and expressive art therapy. She is the Founder and Director of Canvas of Mind, a pioneering wellness initiative that serves diverse populations including oncology patients, corporate professionals, and senior citizens.
President’s Choice Award
The AATA President’s Award recognizes exemplary service to the art therapy profession and to our Association.
This year, AATA President Nadia Paredes awarded the President’s Award to Carolyn Brown Treadon.
As Nadia explained, “Carolyn is an outstanding human being — and wears many hats.” She served on the Certification Committee, on the Board of Appeals, Registration Standards Taskforce, as well as the Special Committee for NCCA accreditation. She also assisted AATA’s Board with identifying and vetting exam development and administration providers during ATCB’s move to independent operations.
Carolyn as a Registered and Board Certified art therapist (ATR-BC), and an Art Therapy Certified Supervisor (ATCS). She is also the program coordinator at PennWest Edinboro. Her published research includes topics on utilizing art museums in the therapeutic process and using the art therapy process to alter individual’s perceptions and attitudes toward individuals with disabilities.