Sharon Greenleaf La Pierre Papers

Dr. Sharon Greenleaf La Pierre was raised in St. Helena, California. Her professional career began in the 1960s and continues through the 2000s, during which time she was also a working, exhibiting artist. Dr. La Pierre taught at La Jolla Progressive Elementary School, California, and then an inner-city high school in San Francisco, California, in a period spanning 1966-1970. Starting in 1971, Dr. La Pierre began to focus her work on art education, primarily fiber art and weaving, and started to work for various Colorado colleges, starting with Arapahoe Community College. From this time through to the mid-1980s, she worked at various Colorado colleges, in both administrative and classroom roles. In 1987, Dr. La Pierre published her dissertation "Spatial Imagery and Its Measurement", earning her Ph.D. in Education, and starting a postdoctorate fellowship with Montana State University, where she would work through 1988. In the 1990s, Dr. La Pierre pivoted from education to working in the private sector, using her education in design to work with, and later direct, several technology and manufacturing firms. During this period, in 1992, she published another major work "The Professional Artist's Thinking Style: An In-Depth Study", part of her work with the National Art Education Association (NAEA). From 2000 to the present, Dr. La Pierre has been Director of Administration and Operations with Look Dynamics, Inc., of Longmont, Colorado, a technology firm researching neural networks. She has also founded Red Raven Farms, a horse rescue farm that partners with numerous wildlife preservation organizations.