Early Childhood Educators

Carolyn Barton, Kindergarten

MS Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; BS, Hearing and Speech Sciences, Ohio University

Lyn has been working as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher for more than 13 years.  For the past several years, she has been leading Green Meadow's satellite kindergarten, Child’s Garden, located at the neighboring Rudolf Steiner Fellowship Community. She also directs the Summer Farm Days program, which provides children with many of the same activities that are offered in the early childhood classes. Lyn serves as a Co-Chair for the Early Childhood Section, is a member of the Collegium and is the chair of  the Go Green Committee. In addition, she teaches part-time in the Early Childhood Education program at Sunbridge Institute.  In her free time, Lyn enjoys working in her garden.

Leslie Burchell-Fox, Kindergarten

MS Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; BS, Speech Pathology, Kent State University 

Leslie, who has been teaching since 1996, began her Waldorf teaching career at the Waldorf School of Baltimore.  She joined Green Meadow nine years ago, and is currently the chair of the Collegium.  In addition, she serves on the school's Teacher Development, Diversity, and Emergency Response Committees, while also serving on the Boards of Green Meadow and Sunbridge Institute. She teaches in the part-time Early Childhood Education program at the Institute, as well as mentors students enrolled in that program.

Prior to becoming a Waldorf teacher, Leslie worked as a Speech and Hearing Therapist for several years before becoming a full-time fiber artist. She successfully plied her craft for 10 years before she met Waldorf Education.  At that point, she was inspired to unite her skills as an artist with her love of working with young children in a career as a Waldorf teacher.  In her spare time, she is a Lazure artist.

Marieke Duijneveld-Van Brakel, Parent & Child Teacher

BA, Social Work, Rotterdam University, the Netherlands; Waldorf Teacher Education, Freie Hochschule, Stuttgart, Germany; coursework in Remedial/Therapeutic Education, certification Simplicity Parenting Group Leader

Marieke grew up in the Netherlands and attended a Waldorf School from Kindergarten through High School. Before becoming a Parent & Child Teacher, she worked with children and their parents in the Netherlands and in Germany. First as a social worker, later as a Waldorf Class Teacher, Music Teacher, and Remedial Teacher (inspired by the "Extra Lesson" method developed by Audrey McAllen) for special-needs children.

After moving to the US in 2008, she was trained to become a Simplicity Parenting Group Leader and has since led several courses and workshops.

Recently, Marieke attended the course in Early Child Development at the renowned Sophia’s Hearth Institute.

Marieke lives in Chestnut Ridge with her husband and their three children, and enjoys singing and hiking (preferably at the same time).

Andrea Gambardella, Kindergarten

MS Ed., Remedial Education, Sunbridge College; Waldorf Training/Towson State University; Montessori Certificate (ages 2 1/2-7 years);  BA, Human Development, Antioch College

Andrea began teaching in 1977 at the Waldorf School of Baltimore, and has more than 20 years teaching experience in parent & Child, nursery, and kindergarten classes. In addition to being an early childhood educator, she has also been active in WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America), as both a membership coordinator and Board member, and was formerly an Academic Administrator/Instructor for early childhood education at Sunbridge College. She is among the authors of Mentoring in Waldorf Early Childhood Education and has written articles published in Gateways, the professional journal for Waldorf Early Childhood educators.  Being outdoors, sharing the wonders of nature with young children, is one of Andrea's greatest pleasures. She is the mother of three children, who are all Waldorf alumni.

Carol Grieder-Brandenberger, Nursery

MS Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; MS, Nursing, Women's Health, Rutgers University; Registered Nurse and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner; Lactation Consultant

For many years, Carol has worked part-time with women, infants, and children as a maternal-child health nurse. Before joining Green Meadow as a nursery teacher in 2006, she taught Waldorf-inspired art classes and Parent & Child classes in a Waldorf-inspired nursery school in New Jersey.  Carol is a member of the Go Green Committee and the Media Resource Group. As a native of Switzerland, she is multi-lingual. She enjoys spending time in nature with her family, working with fiber arts and plant dyeing, making dolls and puppets, and practicing the art of puppetry. Carol is the mother of two Green Meadow students.

Lisa Miccio, Director of Early Childhood Admissions and Family Programs; Parent & Child Teacher

MS Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; MS, Elementary Education, C.W. Post, Long Island University; B.A. English, College of Charleston

Prior to teaching, Lisa worked as a Personnel Administrator for seven years. She began her teaching in a public school before becoming a Waldorf early childhood teacher in 2001.  She was a kindergarten teacher at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, and a nursery teacher at Dayspring Community School before joining Green Meadow as a kindergarten teacher. Inspired by the growing number of families seeking Parent & Child programs for babies and toddlers, she recently began her birth-to-three training at Sophia’s Hearth in Keene, NH and teaches our growing Parent & Child classes. She is the Director of Early Childhood Admissions and Family Programs, Co-chair of the Early Childhood Section, and a member of the Collegium. She serves on the Communications and Marketing Committee and the Envisioning Group.  Lisa enjoys both research and writing, and authored Eingefallen and Rabbit Holes (Sunbridge College Online News). She is continually inspired by her work with parents, her observations of the children, and her experience as a part-time teacher in the Early Childhood Education program at Sunbridge Institute. As the mother of two boys at Green Meadow, she often attends school basketball, baseball, and soccer games, and enjoys playing doubles beach volleyball with her husband.

Nell-Marie Rowland, Kindergarten

MS Ed., Waldorf Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge College; BA Social Science, Southern Oregon University; Foundation Studies, Waldorf School of Garden City; Licensed Early Childhood Teacher

Nell has been serving young children as a Waldorf Early Childhood teacher since 2000. Her love of little children, coupled with her awareness of the profound sanctity of childhood, led her to this most wonderful vocation; she teaches as a way of helping to guide the young child into the vast world, being ever-mindful of protecting innocence, joy, and wonder. She has enjoyed experiencing the various stages of the young child's development while working as a Nursery, Kindergarten, and Parent/Toddler Educator.

For the past six years, Nell was administrator of the Magic Garden Waldorf School in Northern Vermont, a WECAN full-member school which she founded, where she also taught and mentored.

Prior to becoming a Waldorf teacher, Nell worked as a public-school teacher in Brooklyn, NY. She has served on the Boards of two Waldorf Schools, and was the Faculty Chair at Green Mountain Waldorf School.

Nell’s husband Charlie is also a trained Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher, and is currently helping to run the organic farm at the nearby Fellowship Community. Their daughter, a Waldorf graduate, is entering her junior year at the University of Vermont, and their young son is in his first year at Green Meadow. In their free time, the family enjoys cooking together, working with wool, exploring the wooded trails of the Threefold community, and taking exciting day trips into NYC.

Rebecca Ruof, Nursery

BM, Mannes College of Music; Certificate from The Child and Family in the First Three Years, Sophia’s Hearth Family Center, Keene, NH; Foundation Studies, Sunbridge College, Chestnut Ridge, NY

Rebecca grew up in Germany and attended a Waldorf school from kindergarten through high school. Before becoming an early childhood teacher, Rebecca taught private violin lessons to students at Green Meadow from 1993-1997. Her journey then took her to Budapest, Hungary, where she taught German at a Waldorf school, and later to Baltimore, where she taught Music. It was during her time in Baltimore that she first assisted in a Waldorf nursery class, as well as in a Parent & Child class. She joined Green Meadow in 2006, began her formal training at Sophia's Hearth, and has now been teaching for six years. She has woven her early experiences as a Waldorf student with the wisdom she has gleaned through mothering and studying child development. Rebecca has two children attending Green Meadow.

Meadow’s Nest Afternoon Teachers

Meadow’s Nest is an option for parents who need care for their children following the nursery or kindergarten morning. The afternoon teachers, working cooperatively with the morning nursery and kindergarten teachers, focus on the art of care-giving and provide as seamless an experience as possible for the children staying until 3:00pm.

Azusa Ammar

BA, Kyoto University of Foreign Language, Japan; Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge Institite, Chestnut Ridge, NY

Azuza joined Green Meadow in 2009, assisting in the kindergarten and nursery, and in the Saturday Japanese kindergarten. Prior to becoming a Waldorf early childhood teacher, Azusa taught Japanese language and culture (Ikebana Flower Arrangement) for 20 years in Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, and the US. She co-authored several Japanese language textbooks (workbooks and curriculum) for beginners to advanced students, and wrote a series of articles on Japanese kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools for Japion Japanese newspaper.  Her son is a student at Green Meadow.

Patricia Lynch LoParrino

BS, Psychology;  BS, Special Education;  Associate's Degree in Human Services, Mercy College; Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge College, Chestnut Ridge, NY

Patricia has 20 years' teaching experience in private and public New York City schools. She has taught in nursery and kindergarten classes and first and second grades; as well as in a Waldorf-inspired kindergarten class for children who have special needs. Patricia is also a certified reflexologist, who works with children, senior citizens, and adults with developmental disabilities.

Dorothy Rosano Walden, Meadow's Nest Cook

Early childhood training course, The Child and Family in the First Three Years, Sophia’s Hearth Family Center, Keene, NH; Introduction to the Waldorf Kindergarten, Sunbridge College, Chestnut Ridge, NY; Dental Radiography License, Bergen Community College, Paramus, NJ; Liberal Arts major, Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, CA

Dorothy has worked at Green Meadow as the Afternoon Kindergarten Teacher, as well as a Parent & Child playgroup leader. She returns this year as the Cook for the afternoon children.

Early Childhood Assistants

Kaori Fuller

Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge College, Chestnut Ridge, NY; Foundation Studies at Sunbridge College; AA, Japanese Literature, Bunkyo University

Prior to becoming an assistant at Green Meadow in 2009, Kaori worked as an intern in the kindergarten and at the Pfeiffer Center garden. In addition, she worked extensively as a costume designer and technician for dance theater productions in Japan and the US. She practiced organic farming and Western astrology in Japan, and has also been studying Native American ceremonies for 11 years.  Her son attends Green Meadow.

Debbie Johnson

Bio coming soon!

Heidi Shropshire

Bio coming soon!

Ayako Yanagi

BS, International Business, US International University-Europe, United Kingdom

After working in human resources and as a secretary to a branch manager of Japanese banks in NYC for eight years, Ayako became a mother of two daughters. She assisted Waldorf kindergarten teachers and served as an administrative assistant at Linden Hill School and Apple Blossom School and Family Center in Wilton, CT. She has been involved in fundraising for Green Meadow, the Fellowship Community, and the Fiber Craft Studio. She currently enjoys participating in speech courses for Japanese eurythmists as well as Taiko drumming. Her two daughters attend Green Meadow.

Suggested Reading

Click here for a list of books authored by Green Meadow Faculty.

All images courtesy of Pedro Sousa at http://psfotography.com/