After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture and a Master’s in Graphic Design, Ms. Bartelt was principal of her graphic design firm Synergraphics, and later became a tenured Associate Professor and lead of the Graphic Design program at Loyola University-New Orleans. During her tenure, she authored many articles in graphic design journals including Eye Magazine (London), Communication Arts (LA). Print Magazine (NY), produced two books on posters including Art as Activist-Revolutionary Posters from Central and Eastern Europe (Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service), and was President of two Chapters of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (Raleigh, NC and New Orleans, LA).

The gradual transition from practicing and teaching Graphic Design to organizing study abroad programs in Prague began within months of the 1989 Velvet Revolution in, then, Czechoslovakia. Ms. Bartelt, whose heritage is Czech, collaborated with the Academy of Applied Arts, The Academy of Fine Arts, the Czech Technical University, in Prague, and the Purkyne University in Liberec. The initial programs in Urban Planning and Graphic Arts drew students from across the States, including UC-Berkeley, Rice University, Herron College of Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, New York University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and University of Texas-Austin, and more. Internationally, it drew students from Italy, Germany, Lebanon, Turkey, Vietnam and China.

In 2005, after fourteen years of leading summer programs, she initiated the first self-sustaining, overseas, all-year branch of the state university system of North Carolina-The Prague Institute. As Director, she grew the entity ten-fold, creating new university programs such as Fashion Design, UX Design, and Kiln Glass, and included many elective courses-such as Sustainable Global Human Development, Introduction to Bees and Beekeeping, and Women and Gender Studies. The semester and summer sessions included excursions to discipline-related destinations including Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture to Berlin and Copenhagen visiting Jan Gehl’s office, meeting with Senior Architect Kristian Villadsen; Fashion Design to Paris and Milan for Fashion Design Week; Kiln Glass with glass artist Benton Jones to Venice with a workshop at the Murano Glass School; and Photography to Amsterdam and Rome with Nina Rosenblum, Oscar-nominated Filmmaker, to name a few.

In 2014, Professor Bartelt progressed to establish the independent entity, The Future School, where she could fulfill her dream of providing innovative study abroad programming focusing on sustainability and relevant topics challenging the world today. An Industrial Design Studio program organized for Appalachian State University, NC, with Professor Donald Corey, was the pilot program in Prague with projects linking Czech-based Doctors Without Borders and his students. That association continues today. In 2019, Prof. Anthony Wilson from AppState University brought fashion design students to the summer session of Fashion and Fibers in Prague. The offerings at The Future School have grown to include the Climate Change Advocacy program in Chile, Happy City: Prague, and many more in development. Cultural Tours in the Czech Republic and Workshops in Chile and other destinations offer short term experiences to the general public. Community development service Learning programs and internships are also available.