Early Childhood Faculty

tbennett@seattlewaldorf.org

Out in nature, the world slows down and we can begin to breathe into the rhythms and cycles of the year. Tim has been nurturing the imaginations and creativity of young children at the Seattle Waldorf School for many years. He is particularly interested in the healing powers of movement and free play in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Tim graduated with a BFA in Painting and Ceramics from the University of Washington. He also completed a Waldorf Movement training in Spatial Dynamics. Tim has given talks on Waldorf Education in China and throughout the USA.

cbutler@seattlewaldorf.org

Cindy is the lead Chickadee Preschool teacher, bringing a deep love for early childhood education. Cindy has taught Parent-Child, Preschool, and Kindergarten classes at Eastside Community School and Seattle Waldorf School for over 10 years. She holds a degree in elementary education, a Waldorf EC Certificate from West Coast Institute and a Level One certificate from the Spacial Dynamics Institute. Cindy is passionate about nature, movement, good food and supporting children and their families in their development for the good of all.

mboucher@seattlewaldorf.org

From a young age, Monica found herself most at home among the trees, mountains, and the wild coasts of Washington State. She knew early in life she wanted to become a teacher and completed her Waldorf Teacher training in Eugene, Oregon in 2000. Monica has spent the past 24 years as a Waldorf Early Childhood Educator. She has worked in early childhood programs at Sunfield Waldorf School where she taught Kindergarten, Preschool, and Parent and Child classes. Most recently she has taught at Eastside Community School in the Kindergarten and Preschool. Monica brings joy and warmth to all she does and most importantly to her work with the children and families in her care. When not in the classroom she loves spending time with her family, gardening, swimming, and camping.

mcasey@seattlewaldorf.org

Melinda (she/her) is a Waldorf early childhood educator dedicated to nurturing imagination, play, and meaningful human connection in the lives of young children and their families. Since beginning her teaching journey in 2018, she has grown from a toddler classroom assistant to a lead preschool teacher, guided by a deep love for the Waldorf approach and its reverence for the whole child. Her path into early childhood education began when her own children attended a Waldorf preschool. Inspired by the warmth, beauty, and intentionality of the community, she felt called to pursue Waldorf teacher training, which she completed in 2023 through Sound Circle Center for Arts and Anthroposophy. She also holds a BA in Early Care and Education from University of Washington and is pursuing a Master’s in Education in Early Childhood Special Education. After her own children were diagnosed with Autism, Melinda became especially passionate about creating inclusive environments where every child experiences a sense of belonging, joy, and wonder. Her work is rooted in the belief that children thrive when they are met with compassion, respect, and opportunities for meaningful play and connection.

tcunningham@seattlewaldorf.org

Tonya has been a part of the SWS community since 2006 when the oldest of her three children became a Marigold. Her teaching path has been like a labyrinth leading to the Waldorf school by way of Montessori, nature, outdoor and play-based schools. Tonya completed her BA at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and earned certificates from the University of Washington in Writing for Children, Bastyr for Postpartum Doula study, and the Roots of Empathy instructor program. Her roots are deep in Lancaster County, PA, and she has lived on an island in Maine and the mountains of Colorado. A published poet and accomplished artist, Tonya finds peace on the beach with her family and dogs, and in sharing the wonder of nature with young children.

hdalton@seattlewaldorf.org

Heidi grew up primarily in California, but has called many places across the U.S. and abroad home. After earning her B.A. in Communication Studies and English Literature at UCLA, she worked in marketing and public relations before discovering Waldorf education through her children. Inspired by the holistic approach to nurturing the developing child, she went on to teach at a Waldorf kindergarten in Berlin, Germany, where she led the parent-child program for several years. Heidi and her husband moved to the Seattle area with their three children in 2022, when she joined the Seattle Waldorf School faculty. She finds joy in fostering wonder, creativity, warmth and a love of learning in young children each day. Outside the classroom, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, practicing yoga, and appreciating life’s simple moments.

adoucette@seattlewaldorf.org

Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Adrienne moved to Seattle after earning her Master’s in Education and Waldorf teaching certificate from Antioch University. Since the mid-1990s, she has taught kindergarten, preschool, and parent–child classes throughout the Pacific Northwest. Adrienne began her teaching journey on Whidbey Island and has spent most of her career in Bellingham, with one year at SWS during the pandemic. Over the past decade, Adrienne has also mentored Waldorf early childhood teachers and treasures the opportunity to visit and support other teachers and schools. She is delighted to nurture young children and their families. Adrienne’s interests outside of the classroom include spending time in nature, long walks with her dog, swimming, and singing in a Threshold choir.

sfaiad@seattlewaldorf.org

Sara was raised in the garden, surrounded by the forests and farms of rural Pennsylvania. She moved to Seattle in September 2019, along with her partner and their dog, Obi. Sara is, among many roles, a behavior specialist, preschool and swimming teacher, and a lifelong naturalist and gardener. She has explored these curiosities through a variety of lenses, including formal education and over fourteen years of interwoven experiences within and between psychology (including ecopsychology), biology, animal behavior, and even disease ecology. Sara came to Seattle Waldorf School to encourage this relationship in today’s children, to celebrate the truly enchanting floral and fauna of the PNW, and ultimately, to cultivate a community that observes, honors, and celebrates our deep, intricately entwined connections to each other.

yhirata@seattlewaldorf.org

Yumiko joined our faculty as an Early Childhood Assistant teacher in 2021, after many years of running a small home-based Waldorf-inspired Preschool in Seattle. Her earliest childhood memories date back to when she was a shy 3~4 years old, enjoying imaginative play with dolls. After studying Curative Education at the Camphill School in Pennsylvania, she pursued the Early Childhood Teacher Training at Waldorf Institute in New York. Yumiko believes that play is fundamental to learning, discovery, and growth for young children. She believes the teacher’s responsibility in the younger years is to create and hold a beautiful environment (both indoors and outdoors) where healthy play amongst children can naturally unfold. She eagerly anticipates creating wonderful memories with the children in the Daffodil preschool. When she isn’t at school, she enjoys cooking and creating healthy fusion meal recipes.

jjennings@seattlewaldorf.org

Joe moves to Briar Rose Kindergarten as the Early Childhood Assistant Teacher. He was born and raised in Ohio, and has lived and worked in Seattle for the past five years. Joe has a B.A. in Education from Slippery Rock University, where he majored in Environmental Education and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Ohio University. In Seattle, Joe has been an Assistant Teacher in the early childhood classroom at Bright Water Waldorf School for the past 5 years and a Lead Environmental Educator at the Discovery Park Nature Day Camps for 4 summers. Before moving to the PNW, he was an early childhood teacher at Columbus Montessori Education Center for 7 years. He has also worked with various outdoor science schools and state parks as a naturalist and educator. Joe enjoys exploring the PNW mountains and beaches, reading, playing music, and exploring all the Seattle museums and parks.

cmyers@seattlewaldorf.org

Cairi works with the Marigold Preschool class at Kinderhaus as the Lead Teacher. Cairi grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York, and made her way to Seattle in 2020. Her first memories of school were created from the warm and loving care of an at-home Waldorf kindergarten, nestled between forest and farm land. Cairi grew up next to her mother’s independent kindergarten program. It was here that her love for young children and teaching blossomed. She has taught at schools in New York, Washington and Nepal. She received her undergraduate degree in Global Studies from the New School and completed her Waldorf Teacher training at The West Coast Institute. No matter where she is, Cairi has always found a way back to teaching. This work has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her hope is to spread that same curiosity and magic that permeated her early childhood experience.

eparker@seattlewaldorf.org

Erin (she/her) works with the Rosemary Kindergarten class as an Assistant Teacher. Erin grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where she received a Bachelors of Science in Early Childhood Education from Grand Canyon University. After teaching Kindergarten for three years (in the midst of a pandemic), it was time to fly off to the evergreen trees! In Seattle, Erin worked as a Learning Coordinator at the Woodland Park Zoo connecting with the community to inspire curiosity for animals and nature through empathy and facilitated programs. Erin is always surrounded by art in some capacity whether it is through music, creative art, or her poetry. She is a first time cat owner to a beautiful Ragdoll cat named Olive. If you have any cat advice, she will gladly take all the help she can get.

esmith@seattlewaldorf.org

Ellen was born and raised in Seattle Washington. She went to Central Washington University, to pursue a degree in both elementary education and psychology, with a minor in family studies. Since the age of twelve, Ellen has been working with children. It has always been her dream to teach, and she has been doing so for the last six years at the Kinderhaus Campus. When Ellen discovered Waldorf schools and outdoor teaching, she knew it was the path for her. Learning and playing outside always gave her joy as a child, and now she gets to do so everyday.

sstehr@seattlewaldorf.org

Sonia Stehr, originally from Anchorage, Alaska, is a dancer and artist. She moved to Seattle in 2006 to receive her BA from Cornish College of the Arts. Sonia received her yoga teacher training at Seattle Yoga arts and then went on to teach prenatal yoga at various studios throughout Seattle. She found teaching prenatal yoga was an invaluable experience not only in its effort toward consciously welcoming a new life through body awareness and mindful breathing, but in its effort to create a supportive community. She has also worked as an early childhood educator for over 10 years. She has worked in pre-K classrooms, and for many years, taught art, yoga and creative dance to children.

atompot@seattlewaldorf.org

Long before she had children of her own, Anouk walked into a Waldorf kindergarten and simply knew she would one day send her own children to a school like this. Years later, with her first son, she joined a Waldorf parent-and-toddler program and felt truly at home. There she discovered the belief that has guided her twenty-five years in Waldorf education since: that when a child thrives, the parent thrives, and when the parent thrives, the child does too. Those twenty-five years have taken her through every age of Waldorf education — early childhood, grade school, and high school — alongside her own life as a mother of four children. She also loves working with adults and continues to teach Waldorf teachers. Alongside this, she runs a coaching practice for parents and families, deepening that work through an ongoing training in biographical coaching. It is, in many ways, her way of giving back what she once received.

mweimerskirch@seattlewaldorf.org

Myriam joined the Seattle Waldorf School first as a parent in 2008 and this year will be the Marigold Preschool Assistant Teacher. She began her teacher training at Sound Circle Center when her youngest child was in preschool and graduated three years later in 2017. In the past ten years, she has taught parent and child, preschool, and kindergarten classes. Myriam is very fond of being in nature and spending time with her children. She loves hiking, singing, playing the piano, baking, and reading in French.