Staff

Jeff Kirk, Artistic Director and Wheel Instructor

Jeff teaches the Continuing Wheel classes for intermediate and advanced students and the Saturday morning Beginning and Intermediate Wheel class. He is also the Artistic Director and manages studio operations and facilities.  Jeff served as Executive Director from 2003-2023 and as full-time artist-in-residence and ceramics instructor at Glen Echo Pottery since 1974. His teaching philosophy supports individual artistic development in all students. Jeff's artistic training includes studying at the ceramics programs of Montgomery College and the Anderson Ranch in Colorado.  His work has been exhibited in many local and national shows and received awards; it can be found in private collections in this country and Europe. His public commissions include a ceramic mural for the Amazonian Building at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo in Washington, DC. Jeff has mounted over twenty gallery exhibits at Glen Eco Park.  Some have featured his work; others were group shows he curated of work by instructors and advanced students. He has juried ceramic art shows for other local organizations, such as the Montgomery Potters and the Scope Gallery of the Torpedo Factory.
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Marget Maurer, Executive Director 

​Marget is excited to be part of the Glen Echo Pottery community, joining as Executive Director in June 2023. For over twenty years, she has worked in and managed arts and education nonprofits, including as Executive Director of Project Create, a nonprofit providing arts opportunities to underserved communities in Washington, DC.. She was an arts educator at the National Gallery of Art and a substitute preschool teacher in Cabin John, MD. Marget has been intimately engaged in education advocacy in Montgomery County since 2012 and has served on the boards of her children's schools and the Montgomery County Council of PTAs in various capacities, including President.  Marget also serves as a volunteer nonprofit reviewer for Spur Local.  Marget has an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University and a BA in Art History from Johns Hopkins University. 

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David Epstein, Wheel and Handbuilding Instructor

David started pottery at age five; it truly has been a life-long involvement with ceramics. He studied with Vally Possony of Falls Church, VA for many years. In recent years, he has taken master workshops at well-known crafts schools such as Archie Bray (Montana), Arrowmont (Tennessee), Anderson Ranch (Colorado), and Le Meridiana (Tuscany, Italy).  David has exhibited with Montgomery Potters, received their "Best Bowl" award, and has had work included in local shows. For many years, he helepd Jeff Kirk teach the Saturday Morning Wheel class, providing one-on-one attention to beginners and techinical advice and tips to more experienced students.  David is currently a wheel and handbuilding instructor. ​
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Linda Johnson, Teen Wheel Instructor

Linda began studying ceramics at GEP in 1977 and has participated in all aspects of pottery production. Her work has been included in local exhibitions. She has taught basic wheel pottery techniques to middle and high school students at GEP since 1989 and currently teaches the afer-school classes as well as summer camp sessions.
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Kira Kibler, Handbuilding Instructor

Kira has an M.Ed. in Art Education from George Washington University and a B.A. in Studio Art from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. She has studied at Montgomery College, Glen Echo Pottery, Hinckley Pottery, Yellow Barn, Smithsonian Resident Associates Program, Lee Arts Center, Baltmore Clay Works, Art New England, Peter’s Valley, Arrowmont, Hollins U.-Tinker Mountain Visual Arts, and Ceramics Monthly Workshops. Kira served as GEP Gallery Manager from 2010-2013. She directed and juried “Hand Building – Explorations in Clay” at GEP in Fall 2011. She has exhibited her work in local shows. Kira taught ceramics and art courses at Frederick High School, Frederick, MD from 1993-1996. She has been teaching at GEP since 2005 and currently teaches handbuilding courses.
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Dominicus So, Handbuilding Instructor

Dominicus began studying pottery in Hong Kong 40 years ago and has continued his studies in many different venues, combining wheel-thrown and handbuilding methods into both functional and sculptural work. His work has been exhibited widely in both juried ceramic art shows and galleries. He is a juried member of the Washington Ceramic Guild and a regular exhibitor at the Scopes Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. He is currently a handbuilding instructor.
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Mike Friedman, Assistant Wheel Instructor

Mike is an Assistant Instructor in the Monday night Beginning through Advanced Wheel class. A self-proclaimed "recovering lawyer," Mike came to pottery after an initial foray into the art of of metal sculpture that he studied at the Corcoran. He joined Glen Echo Pottery in 2012.
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Board of Directors

Linda Epstein, President
Hope Walker, Vice President
Joyce Forrest, Treasurer
Cynthia Deitch, Secretary
Michael Friedman
Julie Maltzman
Jean Wrathall
Beatriz Pinto
Peter Kosa
Jeff Kirk, Artistic Director - Ex officio
Marget Maurer, Executive Director - Ex officio