Faculty

	Sheila Edwards Savannah B.A., Marquette University; M.F.A., Savannah College of Art and Design. Sheila Edwards has been a member of the furniture design faculty since 2004. As promotional liaison for the School of Design, she works to promote the school's departments through industry trade shows and international exhibitions, including the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, Salone Satellite in Milan, Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Exposition in Chicago, and others. Her experience in design and management, as well as in wood, metal and plastic fabrication, solidify her teaching methods that use tech-based machinery, CAD and graphics software to push the boundaries of design. Courses: Design Studio: Electronic Furniture Design 3-D Computer-aided Design for Furniture Furniture Design Senior Project Issues in Furniture Design Directed Research in Furniture Design
	Aaron Heisler Savannah B.A., Western Maryland College; M.F.A., Savannah College of Art and Design. Aaron Heisler joined the SCAD furniture design faculty in 2007. His professional background includes experience as a blacksmith, woodworker and industrial tool designer, all of which have influenced his approach to the furniture design classroom. He emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between fine craft, inventive design, traditional technique and technological exploration. Heisler also runs his own design studio, which specializes in custom design and fabrication of hand-forged metal furniture and other functional art. In 2005, Heisler was a winner in the annual NICHE magazine design competition. Courses: Furniture Practices: Metal Furniture Practices: Welding Materials and Techniques Experimental Metal Fabrication
	George Perez Savannah A.S., Middlesex Community College; B.S., Southern Connecticut State University; M.F.A., University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. George Perez is chairperson of the furniture design department and has been a full-time faculty member at SCAD since 1996. He also has taught summer courses at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, as well as a summer workshop at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. His interests in the furniture-making process range from functional to conceptual work, and include 2-D and 3-D creations in a variety of materials, including wood and plastics. Exhibitions: Haystack faculty exhibition, Blue Heron Gallery, Deer Isle, Maine, 2002 “Big Picture Show,” Pei Ling Chan Gallery, Savannah, Ga., 2003 “Craft Transformed” retrospective exhibition, Star Gallery, New Bedford, Mass., 2003 (selected from University of Massachusetts alumni for exhibition) Honors: Best of Show, “Faith and Form,” Ritz Gallery, Brunswick, Ga., 2000 Memberships: The Furniture Society
	John Pierson Savannah A.B., M.A., San Diego State University.
	Richard Prisco Savannah B.S., University of Bridgeport; M.F.A., Rochester Institute of Technology. Richard Prisco has been a furniture design professor at SCAD since 1994 and was department head from 1996 - 2003. As design manager at Gerber Group Ltd., Prisco developed designs for Bic Sport, SKYR, LOOK, Gordini, Medalist and Grandoe. He developed prototypes for the Invisible Mount Rack System, which was marketed to the automotive industry, and, as a design consultant at King Casey Inc., he designed products and developed merchandising and marketing strategies for Monsanto, A.T. Cross, True Temper, Citibank, Burger King and Ralston Purina. Prisco also has showed work in galleries and museums throughout the United States.