Our Student Committee

The Community for Ethical Jewelry’s Student Committee is based out of Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, Virginia. Chelsea Nanfelt Rowe is the Education Committee’s facilitator for the group, and Susie Ganch is the VCU faculty advisor.

The Student Committee is responsible for the So Fresh + So Clean student exhibition and awards.

Want to start a student committee at your institution? Reach out.

Meet our Student Committee

Debra Dowden-Crockett (she/her) is a metal, glass, and mixed media artist whose practice explores topics of impermanence, alchemy, cycles of life, grief, and loss. She is a second-year Craft/Material Studies Graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy at Baylor University in Texas. She is a member of Ethical Metalsmiths, the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), the Glass Art Society, The Enamelist Society, and the Virginia Glass Guild, where she has served as President.

I’m amazed by the work that we receive for SF+SC, and I love seeing the creativity, innovation, and quality that the students achieve in their works. I am also excited to see how the jewelry is presented. The work becomes so much more intimate and interesting when it is activated in photography. While sometimes a challenge to achieve, the opportunity for activation, to become something more than a static object, is a unique characteristic of jewelry over other forms of art.

A woman with glasses and earrings, wearing a floral patterned shirt and layered necklaces, taking a selfie in black and white.

Cole Kamerick Alfelt-Eller is a jeweler, craftsperson and artist, currently pursuing an MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his BFA in Craft and Material Studies with a minor in Critical Theory from College for Creative Studies in 2023. In addition to metal, Cole works in performance, video, installation, and a variety of other mediums to create work concerned with social conditioning and the process of ornamentation. Cole is a member of the Tentative artist collective, Ethical Metalsmiths, and the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Sustainability, and ethical practices, are things that I am really passionate about. Jurying this exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to engage with artists, and their work that discusses these ideals. And I am excited to see what folks will do in response to our call for entry and see how they play!

Past Student Committee Members