Dr. Melanie L. Buffington, associate professor of art education, has been at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2006. Previously she was a middle school art teacher. Her current research interests include museum education, emerging technologies, culturally responsive pedagogy, contemporary art, service-learning and pre-service teacher preparation. Through all these areas, she teaches and researches in community-engaged ways, maintaining focus on social justice and equity. Through engaging students in service-learning with the Carver Promise mentoring program, Buffington has changed her teaching to include more emphasis on the school to prison pipeline, equity in education, and societal factors that relate to student success.