members of the PSC
Elan Leibner is the Chairperson of the Pedagogical Section Council of North America. He has been involved in Waldorf education for over thirty years, having first taught for eighteen years at the Waldorf School of Princeton, in Princeton NJ. He lives full time in an RV and travels widely in support of quality education, placing particular emphasis on the spiritual self-development of teachers and on Responsible Innovation, an approach that empowers faculties and individuals to expand the possible manifestations of Waldorf education, while deepening the connection with its Core Principles.
Vernon Dewey has been serving as a class teacher and faculty chair at Malamalama Waldorf School since 2022. Previously, he taught at The Denver Waldorf School for 14 years, including serving as Education Director for the 2021-22 school year. He was a founding member of DWS’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee, working to deepen and fulfill Waldorf education’s social mission organizationally and in the classroom. He received his Waldorf Teaching Certificate and Master’s in Education from Antioch University of New England in 2010.
Himself a Waldorf graduate, Douglas Gerwin is Executive Director of the Center for Anthroposophy (CfA) and the founder of its Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program. He has taught history, literature, German, music, and life science at the university and Waldorf high school level since 1983. Editor of ten books on Waldorf education and anthroposophy, he is also Executive Director of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education (RIWE).
Michael Holdrege is a native of Colorado. He completed his Waldorf training in Stuttgart, Germany and then 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 helped found the Chicago Waldorf High School, where he taught until 2019. He currently teaches at the Waldorf Teacher Institute in Chicago and at Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program in Wilton, NH.
Holly Koteen-Soule was a Waldorf Kindergarten and Parent/Child educator for 24 years. She was a founding faculty member of Sound Circle Center in Seattle and continues to serve as Director of the Early Childhood Teacher Education Program. She served on the WECAN Board for many years and is currently the chair of the WECAN Early Childhood Research Group.
Originally from San Francisco, James Pewtherer, became one of the founding teachers of Hawthorne Valley School in Harlemville, NY after graduating from Emerson College in England in 1973. He took two classes through 8th grade and then taught in the high school. After working as the Eastern Regional Chairman of AWSNA and then Chair of the PSC, he returned to class teaching with a first grade at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley, MA in 2010. He joined the PSC from its beginnings in 1980.
Laura Radefeld has been a eurythmy teacher and worked in Waldorf teacher training for 27 years. Laura’s first career was in healthcare financial administration before studying eurythmy at Eurythmy Spring Valley and eurythmy pedagogy and Waldorf education at Emerson College in the UK. She has taught in six different Waldorf Schools from the Honolulu Waldorf School to Green Meadow, and has also taught in teacher training institutions including the Center for Anthroposophy, Sunbridge Institute, the Michael Institute, Arcturus teacher training and led the pedagogical eurythmy training at Eurythmy Spring Valley for many years. Laura is currently the administrator at the Green Meadow Waldorf School, where she is a member of the Collegium and the Advisory Board, teaches high school eurythmy, and is on the faculty of the Center for Anthroposophy.
Victoria Reyes-Cheng came to Austin, Texas, to complete her graduate research in anthropology through the University of Texas in 1998 and still calls Austin home today. In 2005, she became a teacher at the Austin Waldorf School, taking on various roles over the years. In 2022, Victoria decided to scale her teaching back to part-time to spend more time as an educational consultant for schools and institutes throughout Central and North America. Victoria is passionate about the topics of social responsibility and equity. She is a student of Systems Thinking and Organizational Development. She enjoys inquiry-based research and uncovering interconnections and opportunities for healing and growth through education and the larger social fields where we collectively create our world. Victoria has a Waldorf HS teaching certificate from Rudolf Steiner College and a Level 1 diploma from the Spacial Dynamics Institute. She serves on the AWSNA board of Trustees and has been a member of the PSC since 2020.
Jennifer Snyder has been active in Waldorf Education as a subject and class teacher, as well as mentor, adult educator, and occasional lecturer in Sacramento, California. She had the opportunity and delight to found and direct a little two-year independent Waldorf program for 6-8th grade students, and now enjoys class teaching with incredible colleagues in the thriving Alice Birney Waldorf Public K-8 School.
Betty Staley, one of the founders of Rudolf Steiner College, founded the Public School Institute, and was the Director of Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program. She has taught for over twenty-five years, all at the Sacramento Waldorf School – kindergarten, handwork, class teacher, and then founding the high school and teaching history and literature in grades nine through twelve. She is the author of eight books including Between Form and Freedom and Adolescence, the Sacred Passage as well as many articles. She consults and lectures world-wide in areas of Anthroposophy, Waldorf education, parenting, adult biography, and curriculum. MA in Education from St. Mary’s College of California.
Frances Vig is a Core Group member and faculty member of the Waldorf Institute of Chicago and, as a member of the Pedagagogical Section Council, serves on the Leadership Council of AWSNA. Prior to leaving the Chicago Waldorf School she was a class teacher and special subject teacher before joining the high school as an art teacher and class sponsor. She has served as a member of the Board of Trustees and has worked with governance issues as well as mentoring. Frances now focuses on adult education and her work on the PSC and AWSNA. She continues to mentor in various schools and give workshops. Frances completed her studies at Christ Church College Canterbury, Kent in the UK where she focused on secondary education. She then studied arts with a focus on sculpture at Emerson College, Forest Row, England. Research into the intersection of science and art has been a lifelong passion.
Dr. Linda G. Williams was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and received her Waldorf training at the Waldorf Institute of Mercy College. She has nearly 25 years of class teaching experience, primarily serving at the Detroit Waldorf School. She also taught for three years at the Urban Waldorf School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For several years, Dr. Williams was a Co-Director of Elementary Teacher Education at the Waldorf Teacher Development Association in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area. She received her doctorate from Michigan State University in 2006 and taught literacy development and urban education as an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University from 2006 to 2014. In 2014 she returned to class teaching at Detroit Waldorf where she also serves on the College of Teachers, the DEI Committee, the Board, and as an AWSNA delegate.