Francesco De Benedetto - Fine Arts
B.F.A. in Fine Arts from Laguna College of Art and Design.
Francesco attended the Waldorf Teacher Training center at the Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA and completed a one-year internship and practicum at the Sacramento Waldorf high school. He has exhibited his art in California, been commissioned to create portraits for art collectors, has been included in many juried shows, and is the recipient of a grant from the George and Helene Segal Foundation.
Francesco joined the Green Meadow faculty in 2010. He teaches high school art and is the co-advisor for the class of 2014. He enjoys kayaking, picnics in nature, and reading books by Steiner.
April Kornberg - 7th Grade Handwork Assistant
April studied fine arts at SUNY Oswego. An experienced beading artist, she assists in the seventh grade handwork class. Her daughter attends Green Meadow High School.
Christine Marlow - Lower School Handwork
BFA, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA; Applied Arts Program, Sunbridge College.
Chris has been teaching handwork for 12 years. She taught for two years at the West Side Community School in NYC (a Waldorf inspired charter school) and she has taught handwork in the lower school at Green Meadow for 12 years. She is a co-director of the 5th cycle of the Applied Arts Program at the Fiber Craft Studio, which is a training program for handwork teachers. At Green Meadow, Chris directs the Parent Handwork Group, a weekly meeting of parents to learn handwork skills and make and sell items for the school. As a member of the Care Group, she has an interest in the therapeutic aspects of handwork and is especially interested in plant dyeing. Chris had a previous career in graphic art and is a mother of two Green Meadow graduates.
Michael Miller - 7th & 8th Grade Clay Modeling
Bachelor of Arts & Sciences, SUNY Oswego; one year of graduate studies in art at Syracuse University; Applied Arts program, Sunbridge College.
Michael has studied with Margaret Froehlich, Lukas Zay, Patrick Stolfo, and Michael Howard. From 1977-1980, he was a member of a craft cooperative in Syracuse, NY. Michael has taught clay classes to children and to adults with disabilities at the Everson Museum of Art-Syracuse. Michael's own work has been exhibited widely in New York state and in Europe.
Michael is a musician and was a member of a band for three years that recorded and toured throughout the United States and Europe. He has been working at Green Meadow since 1988 and is the parent of two alumni and one current student.
Leigh Tripathi - Handwork Assistant
Enrolled in the Applied Arts Program at the Fiber Craft Studio, Chestnut Ridge, NY. Studied Special Education and Anthropology at the University of Miami, FL.
Leigh assists third grade handwork. She enjoys rock climbing, hiking and camping, and all types of handwork. Leigh began teaching at Green Meadow in September 2009. Her children are enrolled in the school.
Sandy Volpe - High School Crafts
Studied fine arts at School of Visual Arts in NY, and at Livingston College, Rutgers University. Applied Arts training, Sunbridge College. Waldorf Teacher Training Certification, Sunbridge College
Sandy taught art to grades 4-12 at the Clearview school in Wayne, NJ for eight years before coming to Green Meadow in 2000.
Sandy teaches coppersmithing to the 9th grade, geometric floorcloths to the 10th grade, bookcraft to the 11th grade, and leather bookbinding to the 12th grade. Sandy serves on the Social Inclusion and Athletics committees, and is co-advisor to the Class of 2012. She is the director of the equestrian program. Her two daughters are alums of Green Meadow.
Michael Witri - Woodwork and Blacksmithing
Michael studied at the University of Maryland and Wayne State University. He received a degree in theater. He was a professional singer for many years, and then came to work at Green Meadow in 1989.
Michael teaches woodwork to grades 6, 7, and 8, and blacksmithing to grade 9. He iserves on the Collegium, the Athletic Committee, the Middle School Committee and the Lower School Council. His hobbies are music, singing and woodwork. His children are all alums of Green Meadow.
Madeleine Wuergler - Lower School Handwork
Madeleine Wuergler is currently enrolled in the 5th cycle of the Applied Arts Program at the Fiber Craft Studio. She was involved in the Parent Handwork Group for many years before starting to teach handwork in the lower grades. She is also the handwork teacher at the Otto Specht Program at the Fellowship Community. Three of her children are alumni; her youngest daughter is currently a student at the high school.
Suggested Reading
Click here for a list of books authored by Green Meadow Faculty.