About Sally Baker

I believe creativity is not a subject. It is a way of thinking, problem solving, and preparing young people for a world that has not yet been defined. That belief has shaped every chapter of my career and drives my work today as CEO of the Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM (IAS). My path began in the classroom and on the stage, teaching English and Drama and watching students discover their own voices. Over more than two decades, that work evolved into building programs, shaping policy, and advocating nationally for arts integration and STEAM as a process oriented philosophy of learning. Before joining IAS, I served as STEAM Program Specialist at the Georgia Department of Education, where I helped rewrite Georgia's STEAM Framework, grew STEAM certified schools by 385%, and developed the nation's first DOE STEAM Toolkit, now accessed nearly 10,000 times. I was also invited by the Education Commission of the States to present Georgia's model and collaborate with five other states. Prior to GaDOE, I founded the PAIR (Professional Arts Integration Resource) program at the Springer Opera House, which grew to serve 11 counties across two states, reaching over 600 teachers and 15,000 students annually. I hold an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where my thesis was selected as one of five university wide recipients of the Outstanding Interdisciplinary Thesis Award. I have published in peer reviewed journals and am a recipient of the Southeastern Theatre Conference's Tom Behm Award for innovative leadership in arts education and the 2025 Distinguished Service Award for my work in STEAM. If you are an educator, school or district leader, university partner, or business and industry representative who believes in the power of creative learning, I would love to connect. Email Sally