Nationally recognized QACPS arts supervisor receives MAEA’s culminating state leadership honor following a remarkable weekend celebrating artistic excellence, collaboration, and a career devoted to helping others shine.
TOWSON, MD — An extraordinary weekend celebrating artistic excellence, professional achievement, and the power of inspiring others culminated Saturday evening when Michael Bell, Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts for Queen Anne’s County Public Schools (QACPS), received the Maryland Art Education Association’s (MAEA) prestigious Linda Popp Leadership Award.
Presented as the final and culminating honor during MAEA’s October 17 awards ceremony at Towson University, the award recognizes exceptional leadership, advocacy, and lasting contributions to arts education throughout Maryland.
For Bell, a nationally recognized educator, professional artist, and arts administrator whose career spans more than three decades, the recognition was especially meaningful. The evening opened with district-level awards honoring outstanding educators from across Maryland, including three from QACPS whom Bell proudly recognized. As the ceremony transitioned to statewide honors, the final award of the evening brought the spotlight onto Bell himself.
It was a fitting conclusion to an inspiring weekend that reflected the very culture of creativity, collaboration, and professional excellence he has spent his career cultivating.
The celebration began Friday, October 16, when a record-breaking 14 QACPS art teachers participated in MAEA’s Region 4 professional learning conference in historic Chestertown, joining colleagues from throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore and surrounding counties. The district’s participation surpassed that of even some of Maryland’s largest school systems.
In partnership with Chestertown RiverArts and MAEA, Bell volunteered his time to facilitate a hands-on visual journaling workshop, making his own art studio available as a conference venue at no charge. Coordinated through the collaborative efforts of RiverArts Assistant Director Kris Kelley and MAEA’s Katelyn Smith, educators explored junk journaling with teaching artist Marianne Sade before joining Bell to create expressive two-page spreads inspired by two questions: What do you give? What feeds you?
The prompts reflected a philosophy Bell has long championed: exceptional arts educators must also have opportunities to nurture their own identities as practicing artists. The workshop offered a space for reflection, creative exploration, and meaningful conversations about the importance of supporting one another.
The momentum continued into Friday evening as QACPS educators traveled to the Queen Anne’s County Centre for the Arts in Centreville for the opening reception of their 6th Annual Faculty Art Show.
The well-attended exhibition celebrated the district’s art teachers as artists, with numerous works purchased throughout the evening. According to Centre for the Arts Executive Director Allison Moffett, the annual faculty exhibition has become one of the organization’s highest-selling shows, reflecting the community’s growing appreciation for the talents of its educators.
The following day, MAEA President Rachel Valsing and President-Elect Lindsay Miller helped facilitate statewide professional learning at Towson University, bringing together art educators from prekindergarten through higher education before the evening’s awards ceremony.
The ceremony opened with district recognitions presented by arts supervisors from across Maryland. Bell proudly honored three outstanding QACPS art educators: Laquel Nenno, Educator as Practicing Artist Award; Shannon Francis, Elementary Art Educator Award; and Andrea Schulte, Secondary Art Educator Award.
Following the district recognitions, MAEA presented its statewide honors, culminating in Bell’s announcement as the Linda Popp Leadership Award recipient.
Bell’s nomination had been quietly initiated by Andrea Schulte, Kent Island High School’s award-winning art teacher and Visual Arts Department Chair, whom Bell himself had nominated for district recognition.
Schulte, a former QACPS Teacher of the Year and recipient of numerous MAEA honors and the Arc of Maryland’s Inclusivity Award, described a leader whose influence reaches far beyond his personal accomplishments.
“He has built a culture where other people succeed—a culture that is contagious,” Schulte wrote in her nomination.
She added, “That is perhaps Michael’s greatest gift to art education: he makes other people shine.”
Bell’s nomination also received strong support from Lizzie Devereux, Director of Comprehensive Arts Education at the Maryland State Department of Education, who praised his statewide leadership, vision, and commitment to empowering others.
“While it is easy to recommend Michael for this award based on his accomplishments alone, what I have learned most from Michael extends beyond his achievements: he consistently prioritizes people and our shared humanity above all else,” Devereux wrote.
She further described Bell as a gifted mentor who develops others, builds trusting relationships, and consistently places students and educators at the heart of his leadership.
Yet the honor carried an especially personal connection.
More than two decades earlier, when Bell was beginning his journey in arts education, his then-supervisor and early mentor, Mark Coates, took him to visit some of Maryland’s most exemplary art programs. Among the first educators Bell met, during a visit to Towson High School, was Linda Popp herself.
Popp’s distinguished 41-year career in Maryland arts education included significant leadership roles with both MAEA and the National Art Education Association (NAEA). To receive an award bearing her name more than two decades after that first encounter brought Bell’s professional journey full circle.
Bell also acknowledged longtime colleagues Gino Molfino, Howard County arts supervisor, and Lisa Stuart-Whitehead, Prince George’s County arts supervisor, whose professional collaborations and friendships reflect the lasting influence of relationships developed throughout a career in arts education.
The recognition also marked a unique connection for Bell with fellow Maryland arts leader and colleague Anjali Wells. In 2025, Bell received NAEA’s National Supervision and Administration Art Educator of the Year Award, while Wells received MAEA’s Linda Popp Leadership Award. In 2026, the honors were reversed, with Wells receiving the national distinction and Bell earning the prestigious statewide leadership recognition.
Since becoming QACPS Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts in 2018, Bell has worked to establish something far more enduring than individual programs or awards: a culture where creativity is celebrated, educators are empowered, and artistic excellence becomes part of a school system’s identity.
Among Bell’s signature achievements is the creation of ArtScene, now one of the largest PK–12 student art exhibitions across the state. He also helped establish Maryland’s first Fine Arts Signing Days in partnership with QACPS Career and Technical Education Supervisor Adam Tolley, recognizing students pursuing arts-related postsecondary opportunities and celebrating artistic achievement with the same enthusiasm traditionally reserved for athletics.
That commitment to recognition extends through the district’s Arts Teen and PreTeen of the Week features, which Bell personally writes, alongside expanded student exhibitions, performing arts showcases, and opportunities that connect young artists with the greater community.
Under Bell’s leadership, QACPS has introduced innovative courses such as Visual Journaling, Musical Theatre, Film & Cinema, and Commercial Band, while strengthening Advanced Placement fine arts opportunities and establishing national honor societies for art and dance.
The district’s growing record of achievement also includes multiple Maryland Music Educator of the Year honors, All-State musicians and dancers, and national Best Communities for Music Education distinctions, reflecting a broader commitment to artistic excellence across disciplines. Together, these initiatives have expanded opportunities for students while establishing a foundation for continued growth.
Bell’s leadership extends statewide as co-chair of Maryland’s State Superintendent’s Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel, where he contributes to arts education policy, educator pathways, and initiatives intended to strengthen programs across Maryland.
Equally significant has been his investment in developing educators as leaders in their own right.
That influence is increasingly evident on the national stage. Schulte recently had her second national NAEA conference presentation accepted following her second NAEA National Rising Star student award recipient, while fellow QACPS art educators Laquel Nenno of Kent Island High School and Garnette Hines of Kennard Elementary School each earned acceptance for their first national presentations.
They follow a tradition Bell established throughout his own career, delivering keynote addresses across the country and presenting regularly at NAEA conventions since the early 2000s, frequently attracting standing-room-only audiences, sometimes spilling into the hallways.
What began as one educator sharing innovative practices nationally has evolved into an expanding network of teacher-leaders representing Queen Anne’s County well beyond its Eastern Shore communities.
Bell’s influence also reaches beyond public education. A nationally recognized narrative painter, TEDx speaker, and university presenter, he maintains an active independent artistic practice and contributes to creative collaborations within the region.
For Bell, the true measure of these accomplishments is not simply the recognition they receive, but the opportunities they create for others.
“I’ve always believed that the greatest measure of leadership isn’t what you accomplish yourself, but what you inspire and empower others to accomplish,” Bell reflected. “I’ve always been about inspiring belief, building something authentic that belongs to everyone, and championing teachers so they feel known, valued, and inspired as both educators and artists. When that happens, our students begin to see limitless possibilities, and the opportunities we create become part of a legacy that continues long after our time in leadership.”
That philosophy was unmistakably visible throughout the weekend: educators gathering in record numbers for professional learning, teachers exhibiting and selling their artwork, colleagues receiving distinguished honors, and an expanding group of educators preparing to share their expertise nationally.
For someone who has spent much of his career recognizing the achievements of others, the Linda Popp Leadership Award offered a meaningful moment when that same recognition was returned.
Perhaps Bell’s greatest legacy will be measured not by the awards bearing his name, but by the generations of artists, educators, and students who will continue to shine and the traditions that will endure because of the opportunities he created.
View highlights from the MAEA State Conference Awards Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/CrxfMMIGstY (External Link)