Thomas McMillen-Oakley is an artist, a Professor, a Dad and Husband living in Jackson, Michigan. He grew up in Toledo, Ohio and attended the University of Toledo and the School of Design at the Toledo Museum of Art for a degree in Art Education. His Masters is from Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating, he taught high school art at Columbia Central High School in Brooklyn, MI. In 2000 he began teaching at Jackson College where he is currently the Lead Faculty for the Studio Art Department. In 2004 McMillen-Oakley was named the Michigan Art Education Association’s Higher Education Art Teacher of the year.

Tom has shown extensively throughout Michigan in both the 2D and 3D realms. He was selected to take part in Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI in 2011, no, he didn’t win. His works have been published in various journals such as “Serendipity” “Body of Work” and “Mascular.” He is a published author, his book, “Jesus Has 2 Daddies” was published in December of 2012. McMillen-Oakley is also a Collaborator at Large with the Gallery Project in Ann Arbor, MI and has had works displayed in many of their shows. McMillen-Oakley curated a show of his students’ work from his classes with the Michigan Department of Corrections at Cell Block 7, an off-shoot of the Ella Sharp Museum. He is also a Commissioner on the Public Arts Committee for the city of Jackson (MI).

Tom and his husband Tod have two children with two legs and two children with four legs. The four-legged children are often times better behaved that the two-legged children.