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Wilfried Sommer (Kassel, Germany)

Wilfried Sommer‘s professional work has its focus where University and High School meet: He is a full professor of school education with an emphasis on phenomenological methods of teaching at Alanus University, Alfter, and is a High School teacher in physics at Steiner Waldorf School Kassel.

Phenomenological approaches to optics and doing physics experiments as performance art are his research areas in subject related methodology; he is interested in the relationship between cultural studies and physics. Additionally he focuses on the role of embodiment for cognitive teaching and learning processes.

He is active in teacher education and pedagogical research and a board member of the Kassel Youth Symposium.

 Amanda Bell (London, UK) has been a Waldorf teacher for 25 years. She was a Class teacher for 16 years before moving into the Upper School to teach History, Art and Philosophy. She and two colleagues founded The St Michael Steiner School in West London, where she still works, in 2001. Amanda was co-director of the London Waldorf Seminar from 2010 and is a regular tutor on Waldorf Modern Teacher Education in the UK.

Kemal Lowenthal (New York, US) graduated from Green Meadow Waldorf School in New York before earning a BFA in Ceramics and an MEd in Waldorf Education. He has over ten years of experience teaching a variety of subjects in Waldorf schools, including: woodwork, clay, basketry, copper work, stone carving, math and block teaching. He has been teaching 4-12 grade crafts at Green Meadow Waldorf School since 2020. Kemal is the chair for the art department and sits on the Collegium at Green Meadow.  He is an active green woodworker and potter whose children now attend Green Meadow Waldorf School.

Jamie York is a Waldorf math educator, teacher-trainer, math missionary, and the lead author of Making Math Meaningful books.  He spent 21 years teaching middle school and high school math at Shining Mountain Waldorf School (in Boulder, Colorado), and has also taught at a college prep boarding school in New Hampshire, at a university in Nepal, a Waldorf school in Holland, and served on the faculty at the Center for Anthroposophy in the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program for 18 years.  As a math missionary, Jamie traveled across the U.S. and internationally offering workshops for teachers so they can re-imagine mathematics and inspire their students.  Jamie’s website, online math workshops, and books are resources for Waldorf teachers around the world.  His latest creation is Jamie York Academy, which offers online classes to students in grades 5 through 12. 

Virashni Bharuth has been a leading High School English, Drama and Humanities teacher at several South African Waldorf schools for many years, and has played a pivotal part in pioneering content and curriculum. Since 2021 she has been a member of the Council of the Southern African Federation of Waldorf Schools, supporting and mentoring high schools and developing Teacher Education programs.

Douglas Gerwin, Ph.D.

Himself a Waldorf graduate, Douglas is Executive Director of the Center for Anthroposophy (CfA). He has taught history, literature, German, music, and life science at the university and Waldorf high school levels for over 40 years and has helped prepare high school educators to teach these subjects for over a quarter-century. 

In 1996 he founded CfA’s Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program (WHiSTEP), a graduate-level training specifically for high school teachers, which he chaired for 26 years. During that time, he also served as advisor or mentor to well over three-quarters of the Waldorf high schools in North America and helped train Waldorf teachers on four continents. 

Editor of ten books and author of numerous articles on Waldorf education and anthroposophy, Dr. Gerwin is also Executive Director of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education (RIWE). A founding member of the Leadership Council in the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), he also sits on the Pedagogical Section Council of the School for Spiritual Science of the Anthroposophical Society in America; in addition, for the past decade he has been a member of the Hague Circle, an international leadership group of some 45 Waldorf teachers from around the world.

Michael Holdrege is a native of Colorado. He attended the foundation year course at Emerson College, in Sussex England, followed by two years at the Institute for Waldorf Pedagogy in Stuttgart, Germany in preparation for becoming a Waldorf teacher. He taught at the Rudolf Steiner School in Vienna, Austria for seven years, followed by an additional seven years as faculty and board member at the Institute for Goethean Studies in Vienna. Michael returned to the US in 1990 to work as Faculty Coordinator of the Anthroposophical Society in America. In 1994 he returned to Waldorf teaching and taught life sciences, economics and math at the Chicago Waldorf School until 2019. He currently teaches at the Waldorf Teacher Institute in Chicago and at the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program in Wilton, NH.

Mandy Futter’s professional journey commenced in a government school where she spent a decade teaching English and Geography. Serendipity led her to stumble upon Waldorf education while seeking a suitable school for her eldest daughter. The encounter sparked a transformative epiphany, igniting an unyielding dedication to the Waldorf philosophy that would define her life’s work.

In 2000, she embarked on her Waldorf journey at Roseway Waldorf School, South Africa, teaching Drama and Geography.

After transitioning to Michael Mount in 2007 she guided a class through their primary years, an experience that solidified a profound connection with the Waldorf approach. In 2011 she assumed the role of High School Geography teacher, a position that resonated deeply with her innate passion for exploring the intricacies of the world and nurturing a comprehensive understanding of its dynamic nature. She presented the Geography Curriculum to the government department UMALUSI in 2014.

She is a member of the teaching mandate at Michael Mount and plays a role in organizing high school training for new and experienced teachers.

David Barham, M.Ed.

Director of CfA’s Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program (WHiSTEP) as of 2022, David has worked in four North American Waldorf schools, including one in Mexico, both as class and high school teacher. Before joining CfA, he taught humanities at the Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport, ME, for more than a decade. In the fall of 2021, he was appointed to AWSNA’s Leadership Council as Leader for the Northeast/Quebec region.

A graduate with a master’s degree in Waldorf education from Antioch University New England, David recently completed a CfA certificate program in Waldorf Leadership Development. His undergraduate degree at Tufts University was in English and Religion.

An ardent folk singer and guitar player, David came to anthroposophy first as a biodynamic farmer, then as a worker at a Camphill village before signing on as a class teacher.

Graham Kennish (Stroud, UK)

Graham  is a Waldorf science teacher and trainer of 45 years.  He is also a driving instructor and a BACP counsellor, giving workshops and individual sessions in Goethean Psychology. Graham is a grandfather and lives near Stroud with his partner, Jane.

Jayesh Narasimhulu, currently working at Abhaya School in Hyderabad, is a Waldorf math and science teacher and has conducted many lessons outside school classrooms. Transdisciplinary lessons in learning spaces beyond the school campuses have been his forte, to instill an enthusiastic learning/work ethic in varied environments, on land and in the sea. The Surveying lesson for example, for grade 10 students of Waldorf schools, is a program where math, physics, geography and technology are integrated to provide students with multiple points of engagement within the learning process. Some of the other off-campus lessons that he has taught and organised, in various parts of the world​ are Oceanography, Geomorphology and Boat Building & Engines. He has also been involved in organising and teaching many teacher education programs for upper primary and high school teachers and has taught combined high school classes in Australian/ Indian schools.

Simon Gillman 

After working extensively in the conservation movement, with spells in Snowdonia, and the Peak District, Simon spent three years as the forester in Botton Village, where he encountered the Steiner movement for the first time. He later joined Michael Hall School, where he taught gardening, forestry and green wood work to 8-16 year olds for over 20 years. He also co-taught and supported class teachers who wanted to integrate an outdoor or practical aspect into their main lessons. Simon held several leadership roles in the school and was a member of The Heart of Teaching training in Forest Row. He has contributed to the London Steiner Waldorf Teacher Training over a number of years, having developed original land based curricula and led workshops in Germany, China, France and Spain as well as in the UK. He currently lives and works on the west coast of Brittany.

Chip Weems

Charles (Chip) Weems holds a Ph.D in computer science. He is a founding teacher at Hartsbrook High School, where he has taught computer science, and other subjects for over 20 years. During that time he created a developmentally-based, four-year, high school computer science curriculum, which was published in AWSNA’s Renewal Magazine and the Bulletin of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education. He has advised multiple schools on its implementation. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Anthroposophical Society, and the Pedagogical Section. He has co-authored 29 introductory computer science textbooks, has over 45 years of university teaching experience, and is a professor of computer science at the Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he is a recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award. He is also an ACM Distinguished Educator and a recipient of the IEEE Taylor-Booth Award for outstanding contributions to computer science education.

Alan Swindell has had a distinguished career as a class teacher, teacher trainer, adviser for the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship and, in recent years, as the first principal of the Steiner Academy Exeter. He is co-ordinating the work of the British Steiner Waldorf Teacher Education Courses (ASWTE) and co-founded Waldorf Modern in 2021.

Robert Sim

Having originally studied economics and agricultural economics, Robert has been a class teacher, High school teacher, College chair and board member at several Waldorf schools in the US and Germany. Together with Jon McAlice, Beth Weisburn and Michelle Star he founded the  Center for Contextual Studies. Robert is the current director of Professional Development at High Mowing School, and of its Apprenticeship Program.

Sven Saar was a class and High School teacher for 30 years, specialising in history and drama. He has extensive mentoring experience and now works full time in Teacher Education and is on the faculty of courses in the UK, the US, Australia and Germany. Sven gives lectures and seminars internationally and works as an active mentor and advisor to schools and teachers in Britain, Germany, Asia and Africa. He co-founded  Waldorf Modern in Southern England in 2021 and runs the Waldorf Facebook communication group The Chalice.