An artist, educator, and arts advocate, Janet A. Benn has worked for over 40 years in the creation of animation, both commercial and independent. Her areas of expertise include: traditional animation skills, 2D and 3D computer animation, experimental animation techniques and film and video production and history. Benn received her M.F.A. from Yale University school of Art and Architecture, where she studied under Faith and John Hubley, who gave her a job in their New York studio after graduation. For the next 20 years, she accumulated credits in commercial animation while continuing her pursuit of personal independent animation. Benn’s production credits include work for: Sesame Street, R.O.Blechman's The Ink Tank (The Soldier's Tale), MTV Animation (Beavis and Butt-Head), The Cartoon Network (Courage, the Cowardly Dog), 4Kids Productions (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and many TV ads. Janet continued working as an artist on the productions of Faith Hubley (10 short films, 1 feature) and later, with her daughter Emily Hubley. For her personal work, Janet has received grants from: New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Museum Educational Trust, Mid-Atlantic Regional Media Arts Fellowship, and The Wild Geese Making a career change, Janet started teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and went on to be a Lecturer and Adviser at the University of Massachusetts Department of Art (Amherst and Lowell campuses). Benn has also taught video history and production at Hampshire College and Smith College, as well as several 3D computer and 2D experimental courses at other New England colleges. Any course taught by Benn always includes a section on the history of the media, including examples of the best animation and video artists to date. She believes that an appreciation of the best work from the past must inform the creation of new work. Benn has always valued her roles in not-for-profit educational organizations like Women Make Movies, Inc. and ASIFA, through which she has presented programs on women's animation in New York and abroad. Janet is also a founding member of both Women in Animation/New York and the Society for Animation Studies. Now, with AgX Boston Film Collective, she is teaching workshops in Direct Animation on 16mm film, and continues to work on her personal projects. Once the Oxberry animation stand is up and running, many more workshops and projects will be possible.