Long-time art teacher Julie Tervo Dexter decided take a break from full time teaching to be able to be more present for her own kids.  The resulting business of teaching art workshops and selling her own art and jewelry is Äiti Workshop (Äiti means “mom” in Finnish).

Julie has been a member of the Hillsboro community since her AmeriCorps year in 1997, and a Hillsboro resident since 2001.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Masters in Teaching from Portland State University and taught Visual Arts and Spanish at Gaston Jr./ Sr. High School for 19 years.  She lives with her husband, two children and dog.  She loves a “variety pack” lifestyle of many different kinds of art projects and always trying new activities.