Chotsani Elaine Dean, b. Hartford, CT, is an artist and Assistant Professor of Ceramics at the University of Minnesota. Dean is a coauthor of the book, Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists, and was awarded a McKnight Ceramic Artist Fellowship. She has been in residence at the Kohler Artist Residency and is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Teaching and Research grant and recipient of a Connecticut Arts Grant. She has lectured and exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and has taught at institutions including Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, University of Connecticut, Connecticut College, and Hartford Art School.