Faculty, Staff & Board

Virginia McWilliam

Pedagogical Chair, Board of Trustees, Ex-efficio

Virginia worked for many years as an elementary school teacher at the Cape Ann Waldorf School in Beverly, Massachusetts, where she also held the positions of Faculty Chair and College Chair and worked extensively with educational support and professional development.

She came to Hartsbrook in 2008, as a class teacher, and then, after promoting her eighth grade class, she stepped into leadership of the Hartsbrook High School.  In 2017 Virginia took on a schoolwide leadership role as Pedagogical Chair. serving in a co-leadership role with Frances Cameron.

Virginia is devoted to Hartsbrook’s vision and community and loves the exciting job of working with 21st-century  educators.  Virginia also loves when chemistry experiments lead to an occasional lab clearing explosion!

Lindsay Hunter

Administrative Chair, Board of Trustees, Ex-efficio

Lindsay relocated to the Pioneer Valley for The Hartsbrook School and the Northampton community. She has worked as a leader in the Education Nonprofit sector for over a decade.

As a dual-citizen, Lindsay has lived outside of the US and experienced various educational models. After completing an 81-day outdoor expedition with Outward Bound, she found a passion for Experiential Education. This culminating experience had a profound impact on the ways in which she viewed herself, education, society and the natural world. After completing her undergraduate degree, she intentionally began working for Outward Bound, as a way to give back. She held various positions over her tenure there, working her way up in the school. The last position Lindsay held at NC Outward Bound School was directing their scholarship program, working cross departmentally with Development, Finance, and Enrollment. Lindsay’s responsibilities included oversight and allocation of over $16M in scholarship resources, with high levels of donor contact and parent community engagement. This work allowed Lindsay to not only create opportunities for greater accessibility and greater diversity in the NC Outward Bound School courses, but to also follow up with refining the courses so they were more inclusive of the student population participating.

Lindsay is passionate about exploring places and experiencing new things with her wife, son, and two dogs. She enjoys traveling, spending time in nature, architectural design, local food, and music festivals.

Leslie Evans

Prior to coming to Hartsbrook, Leslie worked as the Country Product Manager for EF Education and as the Program Director for Scandinavian Seminar where she created programs focused on preserving traditional skills and sending American students to an array of folk schools in Scandinavia.  During her time at Scandinavian Seminar Leslie was the council representative for the North2North program at the University the Arctic.  The most rewarding part of this work was meeting and learning about people from many different places and backgrounds.

Leslie has two children (both hartsbrook’ers) and lives in Montague with her family, two cats and a dog.  Leslie cannot knit or play ultimate Frisbee but enjoys showing new families the wonder, creativity, and joy that lives in our students, faculty and staff.  Leslie particularly loves helping new families feel welcome in our community.

Diane LaBarge

Diane greets everyone with a smile. She manages the business matters of the school and supports parents with all aspects of the financial process. Everyone appreciates Diane’s clear thinking and organization skills. Before coming to Hartsbrook ten years ago, she worked in an accounting firm. Now she enjoys working in a more lively environment and spends her free time with her three children and ten grandchildren.

Anne Griffin

Originally from New Hampshire, Anne attended both Pine Hill and Monadnock Waldorf schools. She spent many summers at Camp Glen Brook and credits her love of crickets, lake swimming, and starry nights to her time there. Anne has called Western Massachusetts home for nearly 20 years and has two children at the Hartsbrook School – early childhood and second grade. Anne comes to Hartsbrook as the Director of Development after 15 years in higher education enrollment management where most recently she was the director of graduate admissions at Springfield College.

Nicki Robb

A co-founder of Brookfield Community Farm in Amherst, Mass. NIcki has been involved in bio-dynamic agriculture and farm-based education developing an agricultural arts curriculum for students throughout all grades and abilities. She developed and administered the School-To-Farm Program at Hampshire College for 15 years. Her eldest son James was in the first class at Hartsbrook and younger son Daniel following close behind, graduating in the classes of 1993 and 1996 respectively.

Laurie Zacek

Laurie has enjoyed working with the Hartsbrook community and caring for students. Her work experience includes working in the Mercy Hospital ICU, CCU and Pulmonary Care units before coming to work at Hartsbrook.  Time flies and it seems impossible that all her five children who went to school here have graduated! She is so happy to continue to be part of this community and to be able to work with and take care of all of your children!

Leslie Ritchie-Dunham

Rosemary McNaughton

Rosemary’s longstanding interest in science education dates back even as far as her college application essay about being a volunteer aquarium docent and wanting to share her love of science and the natural world with others.  In graduate school she focused on astronomy outreach and education, and taught physics and astrophysics at the University of Toronto, Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst prior to joining the Hartsbrook faculty in 2010. In Waldorf teaching she found resonance with her wish to share the wonder and excitement of science and the beauty and joy of mathematics by cultivating enthusiasm and agency rather than deadening a subject with bare facts and memorization of pre-conceived models.  A love of all things orderly, including spreadsheets, and an eye for detail have led her to take on various administrative responsibilities for the high school through the years.

Rosemary also enjoys yoga, wild fermentation, and occasionally making use of her operatic training as a mezzo-soprano.  She lives in a co-housing community in Florence with her husband, where they brought up their two children, who were/are in the Hartsbrook classes of 2023 and 2025.

Melanie Whitney

Music has always been a driving force in Melanie’s life. She began conducting choirs as a high school student. Since then, she has maintained a private voice studio and has taught music in public and private school classrooms.  She has experience working with children, Pre-K to Grade 12,  as a choral director, voice specialist, general music teacher, and music theory instructor.

Melanie served as the Head of the Music Department, director of festivals, Grades 1-5 music teacher, and member of the Teacher Leadership Committee at a Waldorf-methods Charter School in Fogelsville, PA. Contributing to an educational system she believes in is extremely important to her. Melanie is a constant seeker of knowledge and enjoys learning from her students and colleagues.

Elyce Perico

Elyce loves to play!  Starting with music, she was a professional flutist and Suzuki teacher in Miami, FL before her daughter, Kiara Ana, was born.  Discovering Waldorf education led to a change in career that has provided life-enhancing opportunities, including an ever-deepening passion to learn about the connection between early development, movement and learning. She loves to play outside and inside, in movement and collaborative music.  The joy of working with children and families for over 30 years continues to be a constant source of inspiration and discovery, and Elyce is grateful to have this opportunity to keep growing and learning in this wonderful Hartsbrook community.

Tyler Young

Amber Rounds

Amber is fully immersed in the Waldorf experience, having attended the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, MD through 12th grade. But it wasn’t until her first stint at Hartsbrook that she finally appreciated the superlative that her Washington Waldorf classmates gave her in senior year: “most likely to find Hogwarts.”

Amber moved to Western MA to study at Smith College, majoring in History and minoring in Spanish. She then worked in a variety of educational contexts. After reconnecting with her former Waldorf teacher, Amber discovered Hartsbrook, where she assisted throughout the Elementary School and taught recorder. Amber earned a Waldorf Certificate and MEd from the Waldorf Teacher Education Program at Antioch University New England. Her master’s thesis has since been published in the Journal for Star Wisdom.

 Amber has spent the past two years exploring Waldorf pedagogy outside of a school setting, most recently applying Waldorf practices as a homeschool teacher for a group of five children. These independent teaching experiences have helped her more fully appreciate the strong community at Hartsbrook and the value of the Waldorf curriculum. When not teaching, Amber enjoys gardening and making music. 

Maggie Testa

Maggie Testa comes to Hartsbrook with over two decades of teaching experience. She is a graduate of Penn State University with a B.S. in Elem. Education. Maggie first visited a Waldorf school when her children were very young and it was love at first sight!. For the next decade, she  homeschooled her three children embracing the Waldorf curriculum and its integration of academic, artistic and practical work. Over the years,  Maggie has been an outdoor educator, founded and led a nature-based preschool program and directed summer camp programs. Most recently, she shepherded her first class through 5th grade at a Waldorf methods Charter School. Now, with her own children grown, Maggie is thrilled to be joining the Hartsbrook faculty and looks forward to exploring her new home, the Pioneer Valley with her husband, John and their goldador, Chester!

Heather Damon

Laura Quayle

Laura learned about Waldorf education while working on a farm in France and began teaching Spanish at the Desert Marigold School right after her graduation from college. She went on to become a class teacher at Cape Ann Waldorf School for seven years, until the birth of her daughter. As a class teacher, Laura loves deepening her relationship with children and families through the grades and the excitement of bringing a new curriculum each year. She takes joy in the breadth and variety of the curriculum–and particularly loves to see her students come together in song and movement. Laura began teaching at Hartsbrook in 2018 and lives in Amherst with her husband and daughter. Laura loves to dance, bike, play fiddle, and spend time in the woods.

Brian Jacques

After living in the UK for 23 years, Brian returned to the US to be an elementary class teacher. Brian was a co-founding class teacher of the St. Michael Steiner School in London, and then co-founded the high school in 2012, where he taught English. He was also a tutor and co-director of the London Waldorf Teacher Training Seminar. During his time in England, Brian learned blacksmithing and taught several high school classes this skill.

Jan Baudendistel

Jan began her teaching career right out of college, first as a public school teacher in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and then at the Frankfurt International School in Oberursel, Germany.  Following her Waldorf training in Stuttgart in the mid-eighties, she returned to the United States to become one of Hartsbrook’s first class teachers.  She has led four classes from first through eighth grades and is now the Elementary School Department Chair.  Jan is married to James Pewtherer, also a long-time Waldorf teacher, and has five step children who were Waldorf students from Kindergarten through grade twelve.

Jan as always been on the Board as a member of the Faculty Conference and has served as one of Hartsbrook’s delegates to AWSNA since 1988, was a member of building committees for the Homestead renovation and Hartsbrook Hall, and has served on Long-Range Planning and Buildings and Grounds (now Campus Committee).

Liz Bedell

Liz has worked in independent schools for over 25 years, wearing various hats. She has taught English all the way along, with some History and Latin thrown in, as well as played assorted administrative roles.  She loves teaching writing and literature, and creating space for students to discern and discover their own stories as they read and write.  Liz is also a writer, translator and editor, who is completing a novel set in post-World War I France.

Sage Campbell

Sage is an experienced math teacher who came to Hartsbrook from the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School, where she taught 7th grade math, 8th grade math, and Algebra. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Hampshire College in 2015 with a Division III project focused on differentiated math instruction for adult students and English Language Learners, and taught math to adult learners. She worked as an Education and Career Advisor for students in HiSET and ESOL classes. Sage looks forward to her second year at Hartsbrook, and working with each student to find their home and interests in math.

When she is not at school, Sage can be found skating with Pioneer Valley Roller Derby, taking circus classes, and playing disc golf or Ultimate, and walking the dog!

Thomas Heineman

Thomas has been teaching, in one capacity or another, for the last thirty years: teaching in traveling folk schools, Japanese elementary, middle and high schools and public schools. He has been with the Hartsbrook high school faculty since 2004. 

He first came to the Pioneer Valley in 1984 to help with the construction of the Leverett Peace Pagoda and has worked for human rights and civil liberties in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Korea, traveling extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has guided educational tours with high school students and young adults in Europe, Japan, Central America and the Caribbean. He and his family returned to the United States in 1999 after living in Japan for several years so that his two children could attend Hartsbrook. His son Casay, and daughter Nora are both graduates from Hartsbrook, class of 2011 and class of 2014 respectfully.

Naomi Henderson

Naomi holds a BA with honors in Art History from Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. She is also a Waldorf graduate, having attended Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge, New York from kindergarten through twelfth grade. She completed her Waldorf teacher training at the Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, New Hampshire.

Naomi is an artist who works in many different media, but focuses primarily on painting and collage. She has displayed her work in galleries across the Southeast.

Charles (“Chip”) Weems

A professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Chip conducts research in high performance computer architectures and parallel algorithms, and has written 28 introductory computer science texts.  He is a recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award and The Association for Computing Machinery has also recognized him as a Distinguished Educator.

At Hartsbrook Chip teaches Computer Science, Computer Skills, Astronomy, and Photography. He has previously taught Geology, Meteorology, Physics, Child Development, Calligraphy, and Stone Sculpture.  He spent two years in Waldorf Foundation Studies before becoming a founding member of the high school faculty. Since then he has pursued an extensive program of professional development in Waldorf Education, and is a member of the Pedagogical Section of the Anthroposophical Society. He has written extensively on computer science education in Waldorf schools, consults with other Waldorf schools on their technology curricula, and has led multiple focus group workshops at the AWSNA national conference. Having over 50 years of photography experience, including fine art master classes, he regularly contributes photographs to both the Hartsbrook bulletin and yearbook. His two children were students at Hartsbrook.

Alexander Workman

Alex has a BA in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in teaching from Smith College. He is a graduate of the Kimberton Waldorf School and has worked as a research associate in cancer therapy and neurodevelopment at Penn Medical School and Smith College.

Before teaching at Hartsbrook, he student-taught at Greenfield High School. Alex completed the high school teacher training program through the Center for Anthroposophy. He enjoys playing soccer and the guitar. He lives in South Amherst with his wife (also a Waldorf graduate) and has three young children at Hartsbrook, one in Early Childhood, and twins in third grade.

Christa Joy Andersen

Michelle Brooks

Michelle has worked as an early childhood teacher for more than 20 years. She taught parent/child and nursery classes at Monadnock Waldorf School for 13 years and was the primary caregiver for infants at Sophia’s Hearth Family Center for two years. She holds a BA in Early Childhood Education from Anna Maria College and an MA in Education from Lesley College. She completed her Waldorf Teacher Training from Sunbridge College and has completed course work in the Birth to Three Specialization Program at Sophia’s Hearth. She joined the Hartsbrook School in 2017 and is grateful for the opportunity to work in such a thoughtful and intentional community. She presently lives in NH and feels blessed to have raised three beautiful children. She is nourished by time spent outdoors in her flower/vegetable garden and enjoys cooking, working with healing plants and creating floral arrangements.

Anna Romer

Anna has been an educator for nearly two decades and has taught in both public schools and progressive independent schools. Anna is drawn to the Waldorf pedagogy for the space it holds for children to slow down and stay curious and playful as they develop into their unique and authentic selves. She is drawn to Hartsbrook for the service-oriented and inclusive community and the stewardship of the land. Anna holds a Masters in Education focused on early childhood education from Bank Street College and studied Literature and Gender Studies at Bard College as an undergraduate. Born in New York City, Anna spent her middle school and high school years in Sag Harbor, a small town on the East End of Long Island, where her parents have run an organic vegetable farm for the past 30 years. From this experience Anna has a deep appreciation for the land and the work of bringing food to the table. Anna and her family are avid hikers and bikers, and love camping and adventures in nature. Anna loves a good wilderness picnic, and her favorite cool weather hiking lunch is tacos kept warm in a lunchbox along with a thermos of mint tea.

Valerie Poplawski

Valerie’s youthful idealism led her to pursue a BA in Social Administration and Politics at the University of Lancaster, England. After college she rekindled her love for the arts, particularly dance, music, literature and poetry. Whilst working in Bristol, England, Valerie was introduced to the work of Rudolf Steiner through its many practical applications – in Waldorf education, therapeutic education for children with disabilities, medicine, and commerce among others. She was at once intrigued and inspired for here was work that synthesized her idealism, artistry, her wish to be of service and her zeal to bring change and goodness to the world. Valerie completed a four year Eurythmy training at the Ringwood Botton Camphill Eurythmy School, followed by a pedagogical eurythmy training at Emerson College, in Sussex, England.

Valerie came to Hartsbrook in 1988 and taught Eurythmy in kindergarten and grades 1 – 8, and Handwork in grades 1 – 6. In 1993 she took some time away from teaching when her children were young, and in 1996 she co-founded our Cricket on the Hearth program. From there she began to teach Nursery and then Kindergarten, and in 2001 returned to full time work in the Early Childhood programs. Valerie feels blessed and deeply grateful to have spent most of her adult working life in this wonderful school community. To be in the presence of the youngest children in our school is to be surrounded with joy, laughter, love and sweetness – what a gift!

Chris Shaw

Chris came to Hartsbrook in 1995 when her eldest child was just four years old and she was studying environmental science at UMASS Amherst. Chris very quickly fell in love with the community and with Anthroposophy. She began working as an assistant in the kindergarten when her second child came to Hartsbrook school in 2000. In 2006, when her third and final child was just 9 months old, Chris earned her masters degree in Waldorf early childhood education., She joined the full faculty as a lead kindergarten teacher in 2016.

In her spare time, Chris enjoys wandering in the forest with her two dogs,  puttering in the garden, and caring for her unruly flock of free-range chickens.

Lea Chiara

Lea’s love of Spanish began at a young age when her grandparents, both language teachers themselves, would sing to her in Spanish and teach her vocabulary. Her love of languages continued into her studies and led her to travel to Guatemala, where she lived and worked for two years at the Robert Muller LIFE International School and Atitlan Multicultural Academy. Her goal as a teacher is to bring the joy of the Spanish language to her students, and to share the beauty of Spanish-speaking cultures with them. Her hope is to inspire and empower her students to make cross-cultural connections through the powerful tool of communication. In her spare time, she loves to travel, sing, hike and practice yoga.

Jac Sinclair

Jac is a drummer, theater artist, and wellness educator who came to Hartsbrook following her passion to educate in a community that holds all beings as sacred.  Jac teaches drama, percussion, and wellness and supports youth agency and creative expression through leadership development and a variety of performing arts including acting, directing, stage combat, and interactive improvisation.

Jac earned her BA in Theater and Anthropology from Marlboro College, her MA in Theater Education from Emerson College and achieved Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Certification in New Hampshire, subsequently serving on the NH Certification Board. She enjoys writing and reading poetry, singing, native species habitat restoration (wild gardening), and nourishment experimentation in the kitchen. Jac lives with her wife, stepdaughter, and cat clowder in Florence, MA among the many native plants and pollinators they have welcomed into their Homegrown National Park and National Wildlife Federation certified yards.

Jen Curtis

Jen Curtis hails from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she taught for eight years, working in both public and private schools. What keeps her in the classroom is her love for developing supportive relationships with her students, and helping to foster in them an appreciation for literature, a confidence in their writing, and a greater awareness of themselves and their world. When she’s not teaching or building curriculum, Jen enjoys meditating, scouring the woods for mushrooms, reading for hours on end, and enjoying cup-upon-cup of oolong tea. She loves the Pioneer Valley, and loves all this beautiful area has to offer, especially in the winter!

Catherine Hopkins

Catherine has been a long-time class teacher at Hartsbrook, having promoted her third class from 1st through 8th grade in 2014.  Catherine has served many roles at Hartsbrook including co-teaching the sustainability block in the high school, developing our teacher mentoring and review program, mentored elementary school teachers and is currently the Fifth Grade Class Teacher.

Catherine graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a BA in history and education and a M.Ed in counseling and community development. She taught in public schools and at an international school in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. She has a certificate in graduate studies in Waldorf Education from Antioch University New England.

Catherine has enjoyed traveling with her husband and is dedicated to connecting young people to the land, whether canoeing the Connecticut or exploring our local food-scape.

Bettina Jungen

Knowing five languages, Bettina emphasizes the importance of language skills as a key to different cultures and ways of thinking. As an art and poetry enthusiast and former ballet dancer, Bettina often embeds language learning into a synthesis of the arts. Bettina has been teaching for many years starting by teaching German in Russia, and Russian and Art History in Switzerland. Locally Bettina has been the curator at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College.

Mao Mao Liebert

After ten years of a professional dance career in China, Mao Mao moved to the United States in 2006. In 2012, she completed a BA in anthropology at UMASS. When her son was three and a half years old, he started attending the early child program at Hartsbrook. Since that day, Mao Mao has been drawn to Waldorf education. The Hartsbrook Waldorf school allows children to be children and fosters their creativity and interest in learning in today’s fast-paced world. Mao Mao feels very fortunate to be part of the amazing teacher’s team and finds a lot of joy in working with the children and their families.

In order to deepen her understanding of Waldorf Education, Mao Mao attended various foundation studies. In the summer of 2021, she began her Waldorf early child teacher’s training and completed her Birth-to-Three Certificate in the summer of 2023 at Sophia’s Hearth Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Education.

Outside of school, Mao Mao loves to spend time with her family, cooking, crafting by hand, tending to plants and gardens, and taking walks with her dog in nature. Although dancing is not her usual routine anymore, movement remains essential to Mao Mao. She enjoys attending yoga classes or dancing at home for fun. Mao Mao believes that the best way to heal is through natural and preventative methods, such as using herbs and massage.

Both of Mao Mao’s children are happily attending Hartsbrook.

Amanda McNamara

Katharine Payne

Katharine earned her degree in Music and German from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and then went on to complete her Waldorf teacher training at Emerson College in Forest Row, UK. She has taught as a class teacher at the Hartsbrook School, and handwork at the Hawthorne Valley School. When she is not in the shop at Hartsbrook, she can be found at home with her family in Ashfield in stewardship of a beautiful colonial farmstead.

Rami Baglio

Rami is an artist and educator who spent years studying classical drawing and painting in France, New York City, and Santa Fe, NM. She’s worked with adults and children of all ages, and she loves to share her love of learning and to work with the myriad of ways that different individuals learn.

Having returned to the Pioneer Valley in 2021, Rami is thrilled to be joining the Hartsbrook School and community. She is an alumna of the Aurora Waldorf School in East Aurora, New York, and an avid supporter of Waldorf education which has had a tremendous impact in shaping her as a person and providing her with the tools she needed to navigate the world with thoughtfulness, ingenuity, and an open heart and positive mind.

Ashley Brooks

Ashley Brooks is a per diem nurse at Hartsbrook who loves working with children. She has worked at the Shriners Hospital and currently works at Baystate Children’s Hospital as a Pediatric Intensive Care nurse.She enjoys working with the Hartsbrook community with children outside of the hospital environment.

Shane Kerr

Shane was introduced to Waldorf education through a friend who is a Waldorf class teacher in Nashville, TN. He was intrigued by the emphasis on music, outdoor play, handwork, and all the other arts guided by spiritual nourishment.  Shane took a position assisting with 1st Grade at the Aurora Waldorf School in Western New York and then moved back to New England to work at The Hartsbrook School.

Working in the After School Program has been a joy to Shane, allowing him to develop strong relationships with the students. After assisting in games and movement classes and leading hundreds of hours of recess and after school program, Shane was excited to become the  Games and Movement teacher for the lower grades.  As many of our students and teachers know, Shane loves music and feels very blessed to be at a school that practically breathes music every hour of every day!  Listen for him humming in the halls or tooting a tin whistle outside!

Catherine Linberg

Catherine Linberg is leading the Early Risers program at Hartsbrook, supporting a second-grade student, and acting as the librarian in Hartsbrook Hall. She also acts as a sub in the grades, early childhood, our extended day program, and the main office. Catherine has degrees in English and Theatre, including a Master’s from Brown University. She has worked in theatre, college textbook publishing, and as a public school librarian. Catherine also volunteers as the archivist at St. John’s Northampton, assists in the Eric Carle Museum Library, and works in the Emily Dickinson Museum gardens. She enjoys shapenote singing and has criss-crossed the country: living in Northern Kentucky, Southern California, Southern Rhode Island, Northern California, and Northern Virginia—before settling in Western Massachusetts for the last 8 years, embracing Waldorf education.

Angela Leclerc

Before moving to the Pioneer Valley Angela taught for seven years in a charter school in Queens, NY. In this highly multi-cultural environment, she found great fulfillment connecting with young people and their families. After taking time off to bring two children of her own into the world, she is pursuing her certification in Waldorf teaching. She has traded in the celebration of the city for the beauty of the rural countryside. In her spare moments, when she is not spending time with her husband and children, you can find her gardening or crafting.

Nathalie Lewis

Nathalie’s love of children, nature, and creative expression brought her to The Hartsbrook School.  She has been teaching young children for seventeen years and has worked in a variety of program curriculums but ultimately found that Waldorf pedagogy resonates with her the most as it allows for holistic and unhurried development of the individual. In her spare time, Nathalie enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, yoga, and artwork.

Jamie Rochon

Jamie is a licensed art educator (Pre-K – 12) and has been teaching art at various grade levels for over 10 years – with a particular passion for fiber arts! With her own children entering school age, Jamie developed a deep interest in finding an education system that focused on the human gifts of individual students and was drawn to Hartsbrook. Jamie obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from Mount Holyoke College, post-baccalaureate in Art Education from Westfield State, and Master’s in Art Education from Boston University. She is currently the Handwork Teacher for grades 1-4 and a Teaching Assistant.

Kayoko Sugahara Rodriguez

Kayo moved from her native Tokyo to Massachusetts several years ago.  Of all of her professional experiences, she has enjoyed being with children the most, and so she feels fortunate to be in the Early Childhood program.  In Japan, she pursued her interest in Waldorf Education through study and working as an assistant in Eurythmy, watercolor and music classes.  She enjoys relaxing with her family and cat.

Sady Sullivan

Sady Sullivan (she/her) spent nearly two decades working as an oral historian in New York City preserving  histories and holding space for public dialogues. Inspired by the wisdom of elders, as well as movements for prison abolition and disability justice, Sady decided to begin working with young people. In 2020, Sady moved back to Massachusetts, where she grew up, and she is incredibly grateful to be learning more about healing education by working as an assistant here at Hartsbrook. Sady practices somatics with Generative Somatics and loves to see connections between politicized somatics and anthroposophy. Sady lives in Conway with her kiddo, dog, hens, and gerbils.

Paule Sustick

Originally from northern Virginia, Paule moved to this area to attend Umass Amherst, where she earned a BA in Landscape Architecture.  After graduation, Paule worked in Springfield designing residential and commercial landscapes.  As the Land Stewardship Assistant Director, she enjoys working with students, animals and spending time on our land. Outside of school Paule enjoys yoga, gardening, hiking, swimming and spending a lot of outdoor time with her family. Paule has 3 children who all attend the Hartsbrook and her husband is an alum of the class of 19.

When Paule was a student she had a part-time job at Bruegger’s bagels where she had to wear a sandwich board that said: “ try our eggs”.  Perhaps the Hartsbrook chickens would like the same PR!

Ash Wactor

Ash spent their childhood on the beach in Florida, learning from the ocean how to be brave but also respect nature’s rhythms and limits. They graduated from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wa in 2006, where they studied education and art. Ash then moved to Berlin, Germany and was a Kindergarten teacher in a multilingual school. Education as a human right is at the core of why Ash is an educator. They have participated in a range of positions in many different school environments before coming to Hartsbrook in 2020. They enjoy crochet, watercolor, and movement arts in their spare time.

Ed Mann

Ed is a quiet presence at Hartsbrook, but his work has a substantial effect on everyone. He builds, fixes, and improves everything on campus, including, leaky sinks, clogged drainage pipes, broken thermostats, crooked chairs, and so much more. Ed is quite a celebrity in the Early Childhood classes and a chorus of “Hi Mr. Mann!” can be heard whenever he walks by the play yard. We are grateful to Ed who keeps Hartsbrook running smoothly for the last ten years.

Jessica Schmid

Jessica graduated from Lesley University with a bachelors in counseling and specialization working with people with disabilities. After college, she spent several years in insurance where she worked with several employee committees for improved work environment and events planning. After her children enrolled in Hartsbrook, she found that this was truly where she felt joy.

Vesna Vasovic

Vesna’s office is the control center of the school, and like the kitchen at any party, people can often be found gathered there. While keeping up with conversation, Vesna always handles multiple tasks at one time such as, collecting forms, managing aftercare, selling Scrip, taking attendance, making copies and answering the ever-ringing phones. With her quick thinking and sharp memory, she keep families, teachers and staff on track. In her former life, Vesna studied Serbian language and literature with the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade. Being far away from home and in search for a community for her young family, she came across The Hartsbrook School. It was a perfect fit for her two children who are now students at the school.

Mary Wallace

Mary assists part-time in the business office. After years of working in the Amherst-Pelham school district, Mary enjoys the flexibility of semi-retirement. She is an avid gardener and generously shares her harvest with summertime staff.

Krista Wathne

Krista Wathne, Enrollment Assistant, feels lucky to work with our lovely Hartsbrook families, staff and faculty. She worked as a massage therapist in New Jersey and San Francisco before moving to the beautiful Pioneer Valley with her family. Years before, she was a student at Smith College and babysat for a boy who went to Hartsbrook. Now, her own boys are students here and she loves welcoming new families to the school.

Janis Abbingsole

Board of Trustees, Chair

Janis is Board Chair, and serves as Chair of the Development Committee and a member of the Strategy Committee. She is also the VP of Operations for King Arthur Baking Company, a 100% employee-owned founding BCorp headquartered in Vermont. Her hobbies include trail running/hiking, gardening, baking, and making cocktails.

Jessica McCormack

Board of Trustees, Secretary

Jessica is Board Secretary and a member of the IDEA Committee. She has two children at Hartsbrook and works as Sr. Counsel, Director Global Ethics and Compliance. She enjoys spending time in nature, listening to audiobooks, knitting, and baking.

Brennan Smith

Brennan is a Board Member and Trusteeship Chair. He is also a permaculture food forest grower, organizational leadership consultant, Aikido practitioner and frisbee-thrower.

Nicole Roma Thurrell

Nicole is a recipient of the Massachusetts Excellence in Science Education Award for curriculum developed for and delivered to Hartsbrook High School students. She is also Chair of the Enrollment Committee for the 5th year, and CEO and Director of Education at Institute for Wild Med, an emergency response preparedness company that specializes in delivering the most accessible, current, well-organized, useful, and painless CPR, First Aid, and Wilderness Medicine trainings so our students can feel ready for anything. She holds bachelor degrees from the University of North Carolina in Recreation Therapy and Psychology, and is a Wilderness EMT. She has worked in all aspects of Wilderness Therapy for almost 10 years.

Noah Smith

Noah Smith was originally a student in the class of 1997, and is now a parent of a first grader and a fourth grader. Noah is Treasurer, Chair of the Finance Committee, and  Member of the Strategic Planning and Budget Committees. Noah is also owner of Born-Digital, a software development company based in Hadley which builds open access repository websites for museums and libraries. Noah is happiest on the water, whether sailing, paddling, or just splashing around with his family.

Amanda MacArthur

Amanda comes to Hartsbrook with two decades of experience as a leading expert in the fields of digital marketing and communication. With her vast hands-on research experience, she was regularly invited to present at world-wide conferences, host webinars, and consult for major corporations. Furthermore, her research and talks have been disseminated far beyond their original venues into articles, books, and presentations. Together with her husband, their successful marketing agencies have maintained prestigious clients such as Harvard University, Old Farmer’s Almanac, Meredith Corp., Gannett, and The New York Times Company.

Her less serious alter ego is a best-selling cookbook author with eight published cookbooks under a slightly obvious pen name, two produced specifically for Sam’s Club and Barnes & Noble. She’s a recipe developer who has been asked to write recipes for dozens of magazines, including entire “Special Issues” for Newsweek. She’s also been the host of a gardening and cooking show for the last three years for a gardening magazine.

After her daughter started school at Hartsbrook, she was totally smitten and volunteered as a Class Ambassador, developed the Hartsbrook Cookbook, and joined the Development Committee. Enchanted by the warm community and the school’s ideals, she felt drawn to put her skills, heart, and passion into meaningful work within the Hartsbrook School, and took on the exciting role of Communications Coordinator.

In her free time, if she’s not planning her next road trip, you can usually find Amanda in the kitchen cooking with the bounty from her garden, planning a potluck, painting messily, or seeking out a perfect picnic spot.

Ruby DeFelice

As our school Photographer, Ruby is responsible for capturing daily life at Hartsbrook as well as special events and community programs hosted by the school. Her goal is to shine a light on Hartsbrook’s unique programming and provide parents—as well as the wider community—a peek into what makes the Waldorf education and our community so special. She also works as a Wedding Photographer and loves morning walks with her dog, exploring new cities with her partner, and cooking/baking new recipes. She’s a lover of adventure and is always excited to try new things.

Dick “Cedar” Oliver

Cedar is currently teaching 11th-grade cell biology and 12th-grade biochemistry main lesson blocks.

A science, math, technology, digital arts and design teacher in Waldorf high schools and middle schools for over 20 years, Cedar is also the author and co-author of numerous books and software titles and has worked with scientists, mathematicians, engineers and artists around the world. He attended the University of Maine and the University of Michigan in addition to the WHiSTEP Waldorf Teacher Education program and 5-year Spacial Dynamics training. He currently serves as a visiting teacher and faculty mentor at several U.S. Waldorf schools and teacher education programs.

Cedar is an avid wildlife photographer and enjoys creative design projects in many media.

Olivia Stokes Dreier

Olivia’s eldest son graduated Hartsbrook in first 8th grade; was an active early parent and board member; third board chair. She is a member of Major Donors sub-committee of the Development Committee and of the Land Stewardship Committee. Olivia is also Senior Advisor to Karuna Center for Peacebuilding (retired ED); and an independent consultant in international peace-building.

Robin Harris

Robin is active in the school community as a Board Member and longtime member of the Enrollment Committee. Her son graduated Hartsbrook with the class of 2022. Robin also attended Waldorf School where her father, Junius Harris, was a founding member of the The Detroit Waldorf School, one of the first nine Waldorf schools in North America, and a founding member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).

Michelle Ong-Hendrick

Michelle Ong-Hendrick is a Board Member as well as an accomplished director, teacher, producer and actor. She spends her days as a Trinity College Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Theater and Dance.

Anne Woodhull

Anne is a Board Member whose daughter attended Hartsbrook. She works as an Art and Play Therapist/Executive Director of A.P.E Northampton and President of Open Field Foundation (Bramble Hill Farm).

Maria José Botelho

Maria José is a board member, IDEA committee member, and parent of two former Hartsbrook students (K-8). She also is Professor of Language, Literacy & Culture at the UMass Amherst College of Education where she teaches graduate courses in K-12 critical literacy education, multicultural literature, ethnographic ways of knowing and doing, and writing.

Swansea Benham Bleicher

Swansea is a Board Member and parent of two Hartsbrook graduates. She is in her 18th year as Director of Northampton Parents Center and is currently working on her Masters in Social Work at Boston University; For fun she plays fiddle and sings with Kingfisher Duo.

Jillian McLeod

Jillian McLeod is a Board Member and associate professor of mathematics at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, who has also spent time at UMass Amherst as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow.

Natalie Adams

Natalie is an experienced teacher and a seasoned global traveler. Born and raised in New York City Natalie held her first teaching post as a Class Teacher grades 1-5 at the Rudolf Steiner School in NYC. Traveling with her husband John who was with the US Foreign Service, Natalie had the opportunity to work in Waldorf schools and anthroposophical communities in Bangkok, Thailand; Bucharest, Romania; and Baku, Azerbaijan. When state-side, her children attended and eventually graduated from the Washington Waldorf School. At the WWS, Natalie taught track and block classes for lower school and high school, was the class teacher to  for one 6-8 class, and served as faculty chair for eight years. Natalie and John moved to Amherst five years ago to be closer to good friends and the Hartsbrook School community. Natalie has served on the Board for nine years and has been a key collaborator in developing our teacher review program.

Natalie also co-teaches Foundation Studies at Hartsbrook for the adult community.

Alexandra Mahoney

Alexandra is an ’08 alum and thrilled to be a part of Hartsbrook again! Most recently, she taught a variety of classes at Breckenridge Creative Arts and Little Earth Art Studio. She also started Red Bicycle Woodcut, a small printmaking and design business. Alexandra loves teaching students of all ages and having fun through the creative process.

Lisa Chodos

Lisa is tasked with managing the administrative aspects of summer camps, before & after-school programs, and other student centered enrichment programs. She ensures the smooth running of camps and additional program offerings, while providing logistical support to Faculty and Staff.

Alex Lester

Alex comes to Hartsbrook with 12 years of experience teaching science and math in independent and public schools. While attending graduate school at Princeton for environmental engineering, Alex discovered a passion for teaching and working with students. He was selected to be a part of the Knowles Teacher Initiative, completed a Masters in Teaching at Smith College, and has been in high school classrooms ever since. In addition to his work in the classroom, he has also led youth outdoors programs and now serves as a senior fellow with the Knowles Teacher Initiative. A particular interest of his is student dialogue in the science classroom and using it as an avenue for sense-making.

When he is not teaching, Alex enjoys spending time with his spouse and two children (age 8 and 14) and getting outdoors to hike, bike, and cross-country ski.

Dina Levi

Dina Levi (she/they) joins Hartsbrook as the High School Chair with over 20 years of experience as an educator. Dina has served as a high school Director of College Counseling, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, teacher and administrator. Dina has created and led teacher education and leadership development programs and facilitated parent educational workshops, but her true passion lies in helping to cultivate in students a sense of identity, purpose, and connection to the community. Dina’s commitment to meeting students and families where they are, creating mission-driven, developmentally appropriate learning opportunities, and helping students connect what they are learning in the classroom to making a difference in their community has drawn Dina to Waldorf education and Hartsbrook. Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, Dina has also lived in Connecticut, Oakland, CA, and Chicago, IL before making a home in Northampton where they currently live with their wife, two kids and two cats.

Art Middleton

Art Middleton is a writer and educator who has been teaching for over a decade in colleges and universities here in Western Massachusetts and in the Bay Area of California. Art’s teaching is centered on the belief that reading and writing draw us deeper into the world rather than offer an escape from it, and is committed to literature’s potential to enlarge our sense of who we are, who we’ve been, and what we can become. When not teaching, Art is parenting, reading, listening, walking, and thinking, often accompanied by a dog and a strong cup of coffee.

Rebecca Hipps

Rebecca Hipps has over a decade of experience in teaching, training teachers, and curriculum development. Rebecca has taught in charter, private, and public schools, including several Waldorf schools. She holds a BA in Elementary Education and M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy from Arizona State University. She received her Waldorf Teacher Certificate from Antioch University. Rebecca has spent the last several years consulting at Waldorf schools across the country, supporting teacher development. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Vanderbilt University’s Leadership and Learning in Organizations program. Rebecca will be joining the Hartsbrook community with her husband, 4 year old, and 1 year old. The Hipps family loves to sing, hike, and create together!

Courtney Castañeda

Courtney Castañeda is an active teacher and performer. She is the former Orchestra Director at the University of Texas Elementary School where she taught for eight years, and is the former Assistant Director of the UT Austin String Project. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both cello performance and psychology from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Music degree in cello performance from California State University, Sacramento where she was a teacher in the Sacramento State String Project.

She completed her Master of Music degree in Music and Human Learning from the University of Texas, Austin, and she also earned her K-12 teaching certification. A native Texan, Courtney began playing violin and cello thanks to her public elementary school in Houston, and she is a strong supporter of public school music education. She taught privately for seven years in northern California, coached chamber music for the Sacramento Youth Symphony’s Summer Chamber Music Workshop, and played in music festivals in Paris and Eisenstadt.  Courtney was the Operations Manager for the Sacramento School of Music, and served as the Business Administrator for the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas for two years.

She received her Suzuki Cello Teacher Training (books 1-6) from Dr. Tanya Carey, and her Suzuki in the Schools training from Dr. Laurie Scott. Courtney plays cello in the Austin-based indie-folk band, American Dreamer, and with acclaimed singer/songwriter Ray Prim. She currently lives in Easthampton with her husband and two year old.

Genilson DoCarmo

Genilson DoCarmo is a Brazilian-American, originally from Aracaju. In 2005, he relocated to the United States, but his commitment to youth development dates back to 2002 in Bolivia where he dedicated a year in varying roles. 2005 marked a significant transition in Genilson’s life as he moved to the U.S. to marry his wife, Tania. The couple set up their initial residence in California, then went to Cambodia. In Phnom Penh, Genilson coached soccer, taught life skills and conversational English to young Cambodians getting ready for the job market. DoCarmo speaks Spanish, English and has a superficial knowledge of the Khmer language.

In 2019, DoCarmo completed his B.A. in Social Policy and Public Service with a minor in Chicano-Latino Studies from the University of California Irvine in the School of Social Sciences. He discovered Waldorf education while looking for a more holistic approach to education for one of his sons and discovered The Hartsbrook School.

In 2020, the DoCarmo family moved to Massachusetts where their children became students at The Hartsbrook School, and DoCarmo went to work in Holyoke Public Schools as Student Support and Special Education Teacher working with students in grade 1-12. While at Holyoke Public Schools, he completed a Master’s program from Mount Holyoke College.

Since enrolling his children at Hartsbrook, DoCarmo’s appreciation for Waldorf principles has grown. Today, he is an esteemed part of the Hartsbrook community, exuding enthusiasm in his role as Academic Support Coordinator, with an ambition to leave a lasting positive impact on the lives of the students he interacts with.

Rachel Wells

Rachel has been working in education, primarily as an assistant for the past eight years, but also had a wonderful opportunity to sub long-term for Second Grade. The past three years, Rachel has been working specifically with students on the spectrum and has learned so much from getting to see the world through their perspectives. Rachel has experience teaching children from kindergarten through 8th grade in many different capacities and has loved being able to help them learn and learn from them.

Growing up, Rachel always loved school, so having the opportunity to still get to go to school everyday as an adult for a job has been such a joy. Rachel loves working with kids and is very excited for the chance to work with them in a Waldorf setting. When I’m not at work, Rachel loves spending time with family, working on art, and spending time in the sun.

Pablo Mercker

Pablo (he/they) was born in Mexico and grew up in Germany. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Tourism management in Spain and worked for many years as a Hotel Concierge, before doing a 3 year long “bike-packing” trip across 14 countries in Central-and South America. Pablo came to the US in 2016, first working as a Pedal Person in Northampton and teaching Spanish in South Hadley as a tutor for people with disabilities. His greatest joy has been traveling and immersing his 5 year old daughter in German and Puerto Rican culture! In both roles, as a parent and a tutor, Pablo has developed patience and learned to understand the importance of connection in the teacher-student relationship. He is enthusiastic to join our Hartsbrook community bringing an understanding for inclusivity and a love for languages.

Angelica Radke

Angelica Radke is a former Hartsbrook kindergartener of Meadowlark teacher Valerie Poplawski, and can attest to how special and life-affirming a Hartsbrook education is. Angelica studied Environmental Science & Policy and Economics at Smith College. While studying abroad in Florence, Italy, she was reintroduced to Rudolph Steiner’s work and spent some time on a biodynamic animal farm. Angelica’s work has shifted from doing indirect government work to more heart-centered work. She’s currently studying to become an integrative health coach and herbalist, but has always yearned to work with children as she truly believes cultivating curiosity, care, and connection with nature at a young age is vital to the health and happiness of both people and planet. Some passions and interests of Angelica’s include cooking, medicine-making, fiber arts, Latin dance, yoga, nature walks and travel.

Brendan Geiger

Brendan Geiger (he/him) most recently taught 6th grade for three years in New York City.  He moved in July of 2022 to join his partner in Hadley. Over the following year, he engaged with the school and its community as an extended day assistant, games and handwork assistant, substitute teacher, and April Break Camp co-leader. There’s a decent chance you can run into him on the bike path between Hadley and Northampton.

Tahlia “Tai” Mclelland