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Annika Nelson
Senior Director of Craft and Glass Centers
Annika Nelson, M.A., has her Masters in Education with a focus on Dual Language Education from San Diego State University. She has worked as a professional artist, arts educator, and arts administrator for her entire career, most recently as the Director of the Department of Arts, Humanities, and Languages and Digital Arts at UC San Diego Extension.
While majoring in studio art at UC Santa Cruz, Nelson also studied at the renowned university of applied arts, Hochschule fur Angewandete Kunst in Vienna, Austria. After graduating, she turned her focus to arts education and illustration. At the Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños in San Diego, she created and managed numerous classes and art-making activities for young people in her role as art director.
Nelson has illustrated a number of books including "Folk Wisdom of Mexico "(Chronicle Books, 1994), "Canto Familiar" (Harcourt Brace, 1995), and "Colors of Me" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2011). Her work has appeared in numerous publications for diverse companies and organizations, such as Patagonia, Elite Racing, McMillan Companies, Aesthetics Inc. and the Arthritis Foundation - San Diego Chapter. Her growing list of public art installations includes the interactive murals at Rady Children's Hospital Clinics and a sculpture series at the Tidelands Park in Coronado, California. Her latest installation includes three whimsical bicycle racks along 101 in Leucadia, California.
To contact Annika, please email anelson@ucsd.edu.
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Chris Padilla
Assistant Director of the Craft Center
Chris Padilla is a first-generation American arts administrator, educator, trained shoemaker and leatherworker, and fronterizo artist raised between San Diego and Tijuana. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Art History and Painting & Printmaking from San Diego State University and brings more than a decade of experience designing and leading visual arts and craft-based programs across nonprofit, academic, and community settings.
Padilla previously served as Director of the Athenaeum Art Center in San Diego, where he oversaw a full print studio with eleven presses, curated exhibitions, and guided bilingual community programming. He also served as Education Manager at The Art Kids of San Diego County, where he expanded access to the arts for thousands of K–12 students through creative programming. A trained shoemaker and leatherworker, Padilla has taught leathercraft and cross-cultural workshops at the UC San Diego Craft Center, where he highlights the artistry and repair traditions of handmade goods as tools for cultural storytelling and inclusion.
Grounded in his cross-border upbringing, Padilla’s career champions cultural inclusion, creative access, and the value of craft traditions from book arts and printmaking to shoemaking and leatherwork in contemporary life. His work continues to bridge administration, education, and artistic practice in service of fostering vibrant, accessible spaces for creativity.
To contact Chris, please email c5padilla@UCSD.EDU.
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Amy Walsh
Program Development & Studio Coordinator
Amy Walsh has a Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Pennsylvania State University both specializing in sculpture and woodworking. After graduating in 2010, Amy went onto teaching woodshop and visual arts to youth and adult students for 15 years. While teaching, she worked with several professional artists doing studio and administrative work. During this time, her interest with studio curation and program development grew, landing her as an art director of a private school in Del Mar and a museum curator in Point Loma.
Amy's dream job has always been to work within a university and arts environment supporting students and community members looking to find their creative side. When she is not working at the UCSD Craft Center, she enjoys sushi, taking hikes, and sharing creative outlets with her son and partner.
To contact Amy, please email a3walsh@ucsd.edu.
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Marina Bogdanova
Business Manager
To contact Marina, please email mbogdanova@ucsd.edu.
Meet the Team