Robert joined Greenwood School as its first school director in July 2008. He has over 21 years of experience in Waldorf education, school leadership, and administration –a career that grew out of a deep commitment to and enthusiasm for Rudolf Steiner’s principles of child development and education. He is a leading authority and teacher on Waldorf administration and has consulted with Waldorf schools in the U.S. and in Canada. Robert served as president of Sunbridge College, in New York, from 2006 – 2008, which offers masters degrees and professional development programs for Waldorf educators. From 1993 to 2006, Robert was administrative director of Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, Colorado, an independent school with 330 students from pre-K through 12th grade. There he worked closely with faculty, staff, parents, and the board to advance the school’s mission, vision, and strategic plan. Under his leadership, Shining Mountain achieved dual accreditation from the Colorado Association of Independent Schools and from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. Robert began his school administration career at Waldorf schools in the East Bay and Portland, Oregon, and holds a master’s degree from San Francisco State University. He has three daughters.

MARCY SUMMERS, Preschool Director

Marcy Summers was born in Oakland , California and grew up in La Jolla , California . She received her BA in Comparative Literature from United States International University and spent part of her college years in England . Five years later she returned to England where she studied Waldorf education at Emerson College . Returning to California , she completed her training at Rudolf Steiner College .
Ms. Summers joined the newly founded San Francisco Waldorf School as a kindergarten teacher where she taught for five years. She received her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College and went on to teach kindergarten at the Marin Waldorf School for nine years. For the past seven years Marcy has been teaching in the kindergarten program at Greenwood . She is excited to begin teaching in Greenwood ’s new Preschool Program beginning in September, 2010.


PEGGY ROCK, Kindergarten

Peggy Rock hails from suburban Chicago and a “Prairie Home Companion” like background. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in secondary education, then studied mime and various other performing arts, eventually settling in the Bay Area with her husband. While living here, she has performed in assorted dramas, musicals, and singing ensembles. It was her son, now 29, who brought her to Waldorf education. Her 22-year-old daughter was a Waldorf student from kindergarten through junior year. Peggy has worked with young children for over 20 years, providing in-home daycare, parent co-op participation, and teaching in several Bay Area Waldorf schools. She has trained kindergarten teachers at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training, and served on the boards of the Marin Waldorf School and the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training. She now serves on the Greenwood School board. As she heads into her sixth year of teaching at Greenwood, Peggy feels blessed to be working with a talented and mature faculty and staff and an enthusiastic and informed parent body.

SEASON PETERING, 1st Grade

CLAUDIA NORTH, 1st Grade Assistant

Claudia was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. She studied psychology and theater and received her BA in theater arts from Sonoma State University. Soon after graduation, Claudia became a member/owner of Rainbow Grocery Collective in San Francisco for six and a half years. It was during this time that she began studying Waldorf education, completing her Waldorf Teacher training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training in 2003. During the last two years of training she assisted in the kindergarten after= school program at San Francisco Waldorf School. After graduating from the training she was an assistant teacher for one year at the Mountain School, a Waldorf-inspired preschool, before coming to Greenwood in 2004. For Claudia, it has been a great honor and privilege working as the assistant teacher in the Meadow Lark kindergarten with Peggy Rock for the last five years.

PAMELA ASHLEY, 2st Grade

Pamela was born in Nebraska into a large extended family. Many of her relatives were among the first homesteaders and pioneers in the Great Plains. Like her ancestors, she grew up in a culture of self-sufficiency and began her education as a kindergartener in a one-room schoolhouse. Pamela is an experienced Waldorf teacher who originally completed her Waldorf teacher training at Emerson College in England. She taught grades 1-5 at Santa Cruz Waldorf School and grades 1-3 twice at Haleakala Waldorf School in Hawaii. Pamela brings extensive experience directing after-school and summer-camp programs and has trained in sports and therapeutic recreation for both adults and children. She brings a passion for theater, gardening, nutrition and cooking and a genuine love of working with young children

PIPER PERREAULT, 3nd Grade

Piper is an experienced teacher with a varied and interesting background in both Waldorf education and other methods of teaching. She received her masters in elementary Waldorf education from Sunbridge College in New York. Piper taught gifted children and disadvantaged children, and has a passion for teaching and for the work of Rudolf Steiner. In addition to her work in schools, Piper served for three years as a Peace Corps volunteer, working in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As part of that work, she taught English to Haitian and Dominican youths and adults, and taught Haitian Creole to Dominican youth. Piper also developed and implemented environmental education programs and water sanitation and alternative energy projects. She is fluent in both Spanish and Haitian Creole. With the 2009-10 academic year, Piper begins her second year at Greenwood School.

Mr. 4th Grade

AMY RUEGG, 5th Grade

Amy is a native Californian who, after enjoying the beaches of Southern California for her first five years, has lived in the Bay Area for much of the rest. An avid lover of art, nature, and the outdoors, she received her B.S. in Botany from UC Davis and continued her education at the University of Minnesota, receiving an MS in botany and a secondary teaching credential in life science and middle school science. Amy then worked as the laboratory services coordinator in the University of Minnesota Department of Biology until becoming a mother. Introduced to Waldorf education while pregnant with her third daughter, Amy finished her training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training and has raised her three daughters, all Waldorf students, independently. Amy also received her multiple subject teaching credential; worked as a Waldorf kindergarten assistant and class teacher Grades 5-7 at Sebastopol Independent Charter School; as a high school biology teacher at East Bay Waldorf; and, most recently, graduated an 8th grade at Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa. Residing in Sebastopol, Amy enjoys her horses.

Teaching and learning have been Judith’s passion for nearly her entire life. For over 25 years, Judith has taught in Waldorf schools with children from 4 to 18 years old, at teacher training centers, and in high schools for emotionally challenged children. Her love for the arts inspired her to take an active role in the Hawaiian Alliance for the Arts in public schools of Hawaii and to become an active member of the artists-in-schools programs. For the past several years, she worked as an educational consultant at charter schools, where she served as mentor and evaluator for both Waldorf and charter schools. Her varied administrative tasks included serving as an Association of Waldorf Schools of North America delegate, chair of teacher development and a board of directors member. Her interest in cultural diversity has moved her across continents where she gathered her educational studies. Judith is a mother of three grown children and a grandmother of four beautiful babies that she helped bring into the world. In addition, Judith founded Ohana Circle to improve the quality of maternity care and well-being of infants and children by providing education and support during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and early childhood development.

JOLENE JACKSON, 8th Grade

Jolene joins the Greenwood School faculty with 13 years of experience as a Waldorf class teacher at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School, a K-12th grade school in New York. Jolene earned her masters in Waldorf education from Antioch College and her BS in music education from New York University. She is also a certified music and elementary school teacher. Over her years as a teacher, she has not only provided a solid academic curriculum in the areas of math, language arts, history, and the sciences, but has also developed a flair for drawing, choral and instrumental music, speech, and drama. Her involvement in the life of the school has included educational support for diverse learners, mentoring young teachers, developing curriculum standards, and participation on the school’s finance committee and board of trustees. Jolene is a resourceful and innovative educator who has a deep understanding and enthusiasm for the philosophy and methods of Waldorf education.

Greenwood School’s Specialty Teacher

Lisa’s roots as a naturalist began as a child exploring forests near her home in Massachusetts and observing marine life in the Aegean Sea in northern Greece. After graduating from Connecticut College in 1988 with a BA in human ecology, she moved to the Bay Area and for the past 21 years has worked as a teacher-naturalist and program director for several environmental education programs. Her experience includes seven years at Ocean Song Farm and Wilderness Center, where she has developed and taught organic gardening and farm animal programs, facilitated ropes courses, directed Ocean Song’s summer education programs, and received grants from the California Coastal Conservancy to create a watershed education program. As a watershed science instructor for Circuit Rider Productions' education program, she led high school students in watershed education and restoration projects throughout Sonoma County. From August 2004 to December 2005, she taught 4th and 5th grade at American Pacific International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where she integrated nature and science studies into her classroom teaching. Through exploring, observing, studying, playing, storytelling, singing, and creative arts, Lisa loves creating opportunities for people of all ages to deepen their relationships with nature and each other.

Jing graduated from the University of Beijing with a degree in Chinese literature and started her working career as a journalist/writer. She also earned a second language teaching certificate. After coming to America, Jing began teaching Mandarin. She joined the Greenwood School faculty in the fall of 2008, and will continue teaching Mandarin. Jing loves teaching, and her lessons are energetic, filled with games and songs, as she believes learning should be fun and joyful for children.

Devika was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in Texas, Germany, Oklahoma, Maryland, and California. She received a BA degree in English literature and creative writing from UC Irvine. Her teaching career began in a Montessori preschool in Berkeley, followed by a Waldorf preschool in Sebastopol, and the inaugural year of the Mountain School in Mill Valley. She is an avid grammarian who thoroughly enjoys the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the English language and loves helping children discover the joys of words and writing. A founding teacher of the Greenwood School, she co-taught the first graduating class for 10 years, instructing them in painting, drawing, form drawing, handwork, games, and poetry. Each year she enters the students in the River of Words international poetry and art contest, and to date Greenwood School has had 24 poetry and three art winners, including one Grand Prize winner in poetry and 1 Grand Prize winner in art! In 2004 Devika was named Teacher of the Year by River of Words. Poetry is her passion, one that she loves to share with both children and adults.

Ana Bravo has been teaching Spanish at Greenwood since September of 2008. She is a native of Chile. Ana has six years of experience teaching Spanish to children through food, cultural celebrations, and drama. Before arriving at Greenwood, she taught Spanish in programs at the Edna McGuire Middle School, Old Mill, Strawberry Point, Bacich Elementary School in Greenbrae, Wade Thomas, and the Waldorf Charter School in Lagunitas. In addition to her work at Greenwood, Ana teaches Spanish enrichment programs at Tam Valley School, Brookside School, and Bacich Elementary School. She also offers private tutoring in Marin. Ana trained at the Berlitz Institute in San Francisco and has attended Waldorf Spanish language seminars.

JEMMA TURNER, Sparrow’s Nest Kindercare Teacher

Jemma was born in Provo, Utah and grew up in Northern and Southern California. She received her BA from San Francisco State University in international relations. Some of her college years were spent at the University of Hawaii and the International School of UNAM in Mexico City. Jemma had a career in the business world working in marketing and advertising in San Francisco. She transitioned from business into the political arena for a few years as a fund raiser. Also during this period, she spent a great deal of time in Greece. In 1995 she enrolled in the Waldorf teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College. That same year she began working at the Marin Waldorf School (MWS), where she spent 12 years in various capacities. Most of her teaching was in kindergarten, working with Marcy Summers and Peggy Rock, and the last three years she established the preschool program for MWS. Jemma's first two years at Greenwood School were in the position of Robin's kindergarten assistant teacher. In our 2009-2010 school year, Jemma will take up the position of kindercare teacher in our Sparrow’s Nest after-school program for the kindergarten children.

JANE JOHANSEN, Learning Specialist

Jane is a Waldorf-trained teacher who worked at the Santa Cruz Highland Hall, and Santa Monica Waldorf Schools for 15 years. During her years as a Waldorf teacher, she developed a deep interest in educational therapy and began training in special education. She worked as a resource specialist at the Twin Ridges School District, at schools in Napa, Sonoma, and Sacramento, where she underwent additional trainings in special education. For the past seven years she has provided educational therapy for special education students in the Sonoma County School District, and been a consultant to schools and school districts in Northern California, providing assessments, screenings, IEP consultations, and training workshops. In addition, during these years, Jane has been active in a private therapeutic practice for children with multiple academic, social, behavioral, and sensory integration challenges. She has a number of specialized trainings including: Lindamood-Bell Phonemic Awareness Program; multisensory math support programs; numerous reading programs; Handwriting without Tears Sensory Integration Program; autistic spectrum disorder and ADHD interventions; social skills training; advanced writing programs; and Waldorf movement and artistic modalities. Jane has taught social integration and conflict resolution workshops at a number of schools in Northern California. Jane’s training and experience in Waldorf education and special education make her uniquely qualified to develop the Learning Support Program at Greenwood.

Although Yassir was born in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city, he spent a lot of time in the country at his grandparents’ farm, where he learned to tame donkeys, haul water from the well, herd sheep, and fight off marauding camels. In Casablanca, he was a member of the National Moroccan swim team and competed internationally in Germany, China, and Egypt. He attended Art College and the Conservatory of Music where he studied Western music but his passion remained with his native culture and he began an apprenticeship with a master musician from whom he learned Gnawa Sufi music brought by the slaves from sub-Saharan Africa. In 1975, while teaching PE at a local school, Yassir was asked to teach Moroccan Arabic to visiting Peace Corps workers. His friendship with the Americans led him to the US in 1977 where he began a career as a Moroccan musician and Sufi storyteller, performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall and the California Academy of Sciences; performing and composing music for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and collaborating and recording with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders and Omar Sosa. He has taught Arabic and calligraphy to home school children and is currently an Associate Professor at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco. Yassir lives in the East Bay with his wife, filmmaker and Islamic ceramicist, Khadijah Chadly and his three sons, Kareem, Ibrahim, and Ammar.

ANALISE ELLIOT HEID, 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Nature/Environmental Studies Director

Analise is an avid hiker, nature photographer, surfer, bird-watcher, and writer. She holds a BS in forestry from U.C. Berkeley, where studies included research in tropical and marine biology in French Polynesia; sustainable agriculture and watershed science in Costa Rica; and forest management and field courses on the natural history, fire ecology, and cultural history in California. She has worked as a naturalist, environmental educator, and outdoor education program director along the California coast and Sierra Nevada for several years. Analise has come to realize the power and magic of learning that is active and involving, away from the confinements of textbooks and within nature's classroom, and how experiential education helps lead students to an increased respect and stewardship for the earth and an understanding of the interdependence of all living organisms. Analise joined Greenwood School in the fall of 2001 and is currently the NEST program director and part of the administrative team. In January 2005, she completed her book, Hiking and Backpacking Big Sur, and in 2006 co-authored Sierra South, a guidebook exploring the Southern Sierra. Analise is currently completing her M.A in science education at San Francisco State University.

KARMIN GUZDER, Gardening, Nature/Environmental Studies

Karmin was born in Michigan and when she was 10 years old she left home to attend a boarding school in a remote hill station in southern India. She credits her first magical experiences in nature to the four years she spent there. Karmin returned home for her high school years and upon graduating, moved to NYC to pursue a career as an artist. She earned a BA in studio art from NYU in 2003 and began earning a living by working for organizations that promote food justice and sustainable farming. She picked up her first gardening skills in community gardens and helped start a very successful farmers' market in Brooklyn with a zero-waste, neighborhood composting program. Karmin moved to Berkeley in 2006 to teach gardening and nutrition in public schools and shortly afterwards pursued her interest in Waldorf education and biodynamic farming. She will complete her masters in Waldorf education in 2010. When not in the garden, Karmin continues with her art practice and teaches cooking classes on traditional food-ways.

JOHN HEID, Woodworking

John lives at the edge of the Pacific in a small coastal community just 20 miles south of San Francisco. With his house and workshop situated a few feet from the sea, the fluid shapes, simple designs and intricate patterns of the natural world inspire John. Working with wood has been in John’s family for generations and his forestry studies at UC Berkeley gave him insight into the unique qualities and characteristics of wood. Using a variety of hand tools and sculpting techniques, he strives to capture and retain the timeless quality of wood as it appears in nature, and to enhance the essence of the wood. Through his work experiences – a maritime living history instructor and boat building instructor with the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association, sailboat maintenance with Olympic Circle Sailing Club, naturalist/wildlife biologist technician with UC Berkeley, and Greenwood School’s woodworking and boatbuilding program director – John challenges and mentors youths of diverse backgrounds to realize their potential through experience-based woodworking programs that emphasize self-reliance and teamwork. John, a native of Oakland, California, joined Greenwood's faculty in 2003 and continues to offer after school woodworking classes as well as custom furniture design and construction.

MONIKA LEITZ, Eurythmy

Born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany, Monika was one of five children. She began to study history and philosophy at the University in Berlin but discovered within a year that an academic career was not her path. She became acquainted with anthroposophy and decided to enroll in the four-year training for eurythmy in Munich. She graduated with a diploma and went on to combine her two passions, eurythmy and the English language, by doing postgraduate work with Eurythmy Spring Valley in New York. From there, she went on to teach in Ithaca at a small pioneering Waldorf school with a very dedicated faculty. This work led to an interest in the therapeutic application of eurythmy, so she returned to Germany for further studies with Ursula Ziegenbein at the therapeutic training center in Stuttgart. Having returned to her hometown, she not only learned about therapeutic eurythmy but also that her home was in the U.S. In 1999 she moved to Marin, where she married and now lives with her husband Daniel and two children, Allason and Hyden, in Mill Valley. Monika joined Greenwood School in 2002.

SPENCER NIELSEN, 4th Grade Nature/Environmental Studies

Spencer grew up in Novato, spending his weekends and summers exploring the open space of Marin County. His love of nature grew while studying the Earth, earning his BS in ecology at UC San Diego. While backpacking around the world, Spencer studied indigenous lifestyles and their relationship to the Earth. He studied environmental education through post-graduate studies at UC Santa Cruz and embarked upon his path as a naturalist. Spencer taught a variety of environmental education programs, from Sonoma to Tiburon to Santa Barbara to the Sierra, including leading high ropes courses, teaching at a raptor center, and teaching primitive skills such as fire-making, shelter building, flint knapping, and tracking. Spencer is also a gardener, and it is in the garden that he blends his passions for ethnobotany and wildcrafting with organic agriculture and permaculture. Spencer enjoys listening to and playing world instruments, especially the Australian didgeridoo and Native American flutes. After enjoying a natural/spiritual journey to Alaska during the summer, he is excited to be back in Marin and teaching at Greenwood School for a second year.

ANDREA REIER, Games/Spatial Dynamics

Andrea was born and raised in Hungary. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1998. She received her university degree and teaching credential in physical education and corrective physical education and therapy, at the Hungarian University of Physical Education in Budapest in 1996. She also received her coaching credential in team sports, track and field, swimming, and gymnastics. She has a professional trainer credential in European team handball. She was a young national track and field competitor and played European team handball in the Hungarian National League for four years. Andrea currently competes in cross country and mountain bike races in California. Andrea joined the Greenwood School staff in 2007.

PHILIP RICHARDSON, Strings Class (Violin, Guitar, Banjo)

Philip was raised in Mill Valley in a musical family and started playing folk guitar at age four, progressing to having his first paying gig at age 12. An important part of his musical foundation was at Marin Country Day School under the wing of the late Barry Mineah. Phil played rock guitar in local bands in the late 60's as a young teenager. He started studying viola at age 16; at age 20 he received a scholarship to the Paris Conservatory. After a year of full immersion, realizing he was not suited to be an orchestral musician, he returned to the Bay Area, performing, touring, and recording on electric violin with local harmonica whiz Norton Buffalo. Upon the disbanding of The Stampede, he began studying jazz and classical guitar, landing a solo guitar gig at the Olema Inn, a run that lasted over 20 years, during which time he had an opportunity to develop a fair amount of repertoire in various styles. During that time he studied guitar with Davis Ramey and Tuck Andress (of Tuck and Patti fame). He currently divides his time between playing violin in the local bands Hot House, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Danny Montana & the Bar Association, and freelancing on solo guitar.

EDITH SZENDREY, Orchestra Program Director

Edith grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and graduated with a B. Mus. from the University of British Columbia in both violin and viola, with a minor in fine arts. She has been a member of many local orchestras and has concertized around the United States. Edith also led the East Bay Waldorf School music program and taught choral and instrumental music for the past eleven years. She worked with students in 4th-12th grades in string classes, recorder ensembles, and choral and orchestra groups. She recently completed her second year of Waldorf teacher training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training.

JEANETTE TIETZE, 1st & 2nd Grades Singing

Jeannette received her master’s degree in music from San Francisco State University and is trained in the Kodály method of singing instruction. An accomplished musician (piano, organ, and violin), she also brings more than twenty years of music teaching experience, in school settings as well as private piano and violin lessons.