Nissa Kauppila was born and raised in the small, rural town of Monkton, Vermont, USA. She holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a Masters of Education (Med.) specializing in Curriculum and Instruction, from the University of Vermont (UVM). Kauppila has worked in private and public education for over ten years, in both primary and secondary levels, and has specialized in course-work involving both art and design, as well as the digital arts.  Kauppila’s previous course work has included: fine art painting and illustration, digital photography, digital video, character and game design, sports and entertainment marketing, history through film, introduction to animation, to name a few. Kauppila also continues to work within the art world as an internationally acclaimed watercolor artist, (www.nissakauppila.com) with current galleries in Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Kauppila’s on-going immersion in the art world along with her previous experiences in teaching both traditional and contemporary digital art skills brings the students of Han academy a unique experience in having exposure and experience with both traditional fine arts skills and 21st century digital media and design.