Jennifer Garonzik marks 10 years growing BRAHM's art education mission - published March 18, 2026

Story Written by: Lorelei Roberts

BLOWING ROCK — For more than a decade, Jennifer Terrell Garonzik has worked to make art accessible to everyone in Watauga County — from preschoolers in the Doodlebug Club to families impacted by Hurricane Helene.

As education director at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, Garonzik has grown the program from a part-time role to a full-time operation, adding an education outreach coordinator along the way.

Cork & Canvas at BRAHM

Garonzik grew up in Frederick County, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, where she graduated from Thomas Johnson High School Magnet Program for the Visual and Performing Arts. There she was first introduced to Plein Air painting before setting it aside when she moved to college at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, earning her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts with coursework in Education.

After graduating, she returned to Maryland briefly before she and her husband visited Boone for MerleFest and to hike.

She said they fell in love and knew they had to move.

They relocated in 1998, and she worked at the Watauga Democrat doing advertising layouts, then at several education publishing companies before taking time off to raise her children.

Her connection to BRAHM began as a visitor.

“Someone gifted our family a membership to BRAHM when it was fairly new,” Garonzik said. “I started bringing the kids to the Doodlebug Club.”

She began volunteering at museum events and eventually applied for a position, landing the education director role.

Summer Camps at BRAHM