Lynnette Gilbert is an associate professor of art education at Arkansas Tech University and the director of the Windgate Summer Art Launch Program for Arkansas art educators. She received her doctorate at the University of Houston, and has twenty-three years of teaching experience, including sixteen years teaching art in secondary schools in Tennessee and Texas. Throughout her career, she has presented sessions locally, regionally, and nationally, including the National Art Education Association, the Texas Art Education Association, and at the Kent State Symposium she presented Textures: The History and Art of Black Hair. She also has been published in the Journal of Folklore and Education and Panorama. Her goal and platform are creating a space for more distinctive voices in the field of art education. Her artwork reflects the beauty, strength, and value of black women through her bold use of colors, play of pattern, textures, and mixed media.