Dan Li holds a Ph.D. in Art Education from the University of Houston. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned a Master of Arts in Contemporary Studio Arts and Criticism in Education, along with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the Education University of Hong Kong. Her postgraduate diploma included an art teacher certification, with a major in Visual Arts and a minor in Special Needs.

​

Li is an accomplished art educator and painter, certified with a Texas EC-12 Art and Health Education Teacher Certificate, which includes ESL, special education, and gifted education endorsements, as well as a Hong Kong EC-12 Art Teacher Certificate. She has over a decade of experience as a K-12 art educator, working across public schools, after-school programs, enrichment initiatives, and university studio courses. Notably, she has led the Saturday Morning Art Program at three universities for over 10 years. Since earning her Ph.D., she has transitioned into higher education, where she has been teaching for the past five years. Many of her students have won first place in undergraduate research forums and secured research funding under her guidance.

​

Li’s research interests cover a wide array of topics, including social justice art education, issues-based art education, critical visual literacy, interdisciplinary art education, and the integration of technology in art education. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in prominent national and international journals, such as Art Education Journal, International Journal of Education & the Arts, and International Journal of Arts Education.

​

Her research efforts have garnered support from notable sources, including the Office of the Provost Global Initiatives and the Cougar Initiative to Engage (CITE) Grant at the University of Houston. She has also received funding from Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters, the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, and the Excel Network (Arts and Letters Projects Fund). Most recently, her work has been funded by the National Art Education Association's Art Education Technology Interest Group.

​

Li regularly shares her research at conferences, including the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and Michigan Art Education Association (MAEA). She has also served as a juror for the Texas Art Education Visual Art Scholastic Event and as a nominating committee member of the NAEA, participating in the selection of President-elect and Division Directors-elect. Additionally, she has served on the Arts Education Grant Review Panel at the National Endowment for the Arts and is a committee member for NAEA professional materials.

​

In recognition of her expertise, Li currently serves on the editorial review board for Art Education Journal. Her artistic works have been exhibited at the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library at the University of Houston, and she participated in the 2021 Faculty Triennial at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.