Staff

All-School Staff

Kalen Wood, Director
(707) 575-7194 ext. 117

Kalen joined Summerfield in June 2023 as the Director of SWSF, bringing with her 14 years of administrative experience in Public Waldorf Charter Schools, and over 25 years of teaching experience. She holds a BA in Economics & Women’s Studies, state teaching credentials in K-12 Multiple Subjects and Social Sciences, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.

Kalen taught PS-G3 in public school settings in San Francisco, Cotati, and Rohnert Park. Courses at Rudolf Steiner College and Summerfield’s Center for Educational Renewal’s (CER) Waldorf Teacher Certification program prepared her to complete a class cycle at Summerfield, where she became a CER faculty member and taught “The Art of Teaching the Grades,” in addition to other courses. She served as Education Director for seven years with two local public Waldorf schools, specializing in mentoring, building collaborative governance, and parent education program development, and an additional 7 years as Director of SunRidge School in Sebastopol.

A long-time resident of Sebastopol, Kalen has a 32-year-old daughter who attended Summerfield for grades 7-12, and a 45-year-old stepson who is about to make her a grandmother. She loves to garden, appreciate & be in nature, dance socially, read books, learn, and explore new environments.

Kalen shares, “The opportunity to rejoin Summerfield’s inspiring faculty & staff, and provide new energy to envisioning the school’s future while continuing to innovate in an educational setting has my heart singing! I look forward to meeting and working, with warmth & imagination, in partnership with all of Summerfield’s community members.”

Caitlin Wallace French, All-School Receptionist
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 100

Caitlin grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina. After graduating from high school, she took a gap year and worked and traveled to Europe visiting exchange student friends. While at Warren Wilson College, she traveled to Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies, she headed west to explore more of the United States. Caitlin moved to Eugene, Oregon where she discovered anthroposophy, met her husband and completed the Waldorf Teacher Training. She has worked in administration and as a Waldorf teacher and an assistant, primarily in early childhood classes. She is grateful that her three children are able to attend Summerfield. Caitlin enjoys gardening, cooking, handwork, camping and quiet walks in big trees. Caitlin has been a part of the administrative team at Summerfield since 2021.

Lower School Staff

Sarah Hill, Lower School Secretary & HS Librarian
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 101

Born in Kansas City and raised in the East Bay, Sarah attended UC Berkeley and majored in Film. After graduating she lived in San Francisco before buying a 1969 Datsun B210 wagon for $200 and taking off across the country. She landed in Vermont and stayed for the next fifteen years working as a photo clerk, a film projectionist, and a documentary film editor with Ken Burns. She lived in the East Village in NYC for a few years, pursuing film editing and photography and then met her future husband Luke in Montpelier, Vermont. Together they moved to Austin, TX where Sarah studied architecture, travelling abroad to Chile and India, and worked as an archival assistant at the UT Visual Resources Center. After earning an MArch degree, she worked as a Design Associate before having twins. They moved to Berkeley to be closer to family and discovered Waldorf education. Her daughters began attending the Berkeley Rose nursery and Sarah began working in the Berkeley Rose office not long after. In Berkeley, Sarah began work on what some (her husband, for instance) might call her final degree – a Masters in Library and Information Science, which she completed in 2018, shortly after moving with her family to Cotati. Here in Sonoma County, they endeavor to put down roots at last and Sarah is grateful to be a part of the Summerfield community.

Adriana Livingston, Lower School Coordinator
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 132

A Sonoma native, Adriana Livingston brings a wealth of experience to Summerfield. A Waldorf alumna, and graduate of the United States Naval Academy, she holds a Waldorf Teaching Certificate from the Waldorf Institute of Southern California. After marrying her longtime love, Josh, she relocated to the hills above Sonoma Valley to raise their son, Clyde, and care for chickens, a vegetable garden and explore natural dyes. Before coming to SWSF, Adriana taught at the Marin Waldorf School and the Waldorf School of San Diego. Adriana enjoys spending time singing with the children, gardening, hiking, woodworking, engaging in artistic activities and finding moments of synchronicity. She feels a deep connection to the guidelines from Rudolf Steiner to, “Receive the children with reverence, educate them in love, and let them go forth in freedom.”

High School Staff

Amelia Miller, High School Secretary
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 108

Amelia is a Northern California native who relocated back to Sonoma County in 2007, after living on the island of Maui for 30 years, where she served as Administrative Assistant at Haleakala Waldorf School. She also served as Assistant to the Director at Sebastopol Independent Charter School prior to joining the high school team here at Summerfield in 2011. In her spare time Amelia enjoys kayaking, swimming, gardening, camping, hiking, dancing and cooking. She is thrilled to continue to be a part of the Summerfield community.

Kate MacKillop, High School Counselor
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 109

Kate is a bilingual (Spanish) licensed clinical social worker serving as the High School Counselor at Summerfield. She is also on Summerfield’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. She has worked with Children, Youth, and Families since 2000 and continues through both a bachelor’s and master’s programs in social work. Her journey to Waldorf education and ultimately to Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm came through her children, Cecelia and Isabel, who are in the Lower School at SWSF. She continued her education by graduating from the Center for Educational Renewal and is currently enrolled in Robyn Brown’s Curative Education Program. In 2019 she began assisting Farmer Dan and most recently Farmer Gabriel on the Summerfield Farm while simultaneously continuing her work in public child welfare. She is grateful to have arrived to work with the Summerfield High School students, families, faculty, and staff as the High School Counselor.

Admissions/Enrollment

Annalyse Jorgensen, Admissions Director
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 102

Annalyse is a passionate educator, meditator, kitchen-dancer, fairy house hunter, and lover of life who has worked with children professionally for the last decade. From the moment she could hold a pen she was gathering the other kids on the block to play school. Annalyse pursued her lifelong goal of teaching as lead teacher of kindergarten through 3rd grade for over a decade in San Francisco and Oakland. As a Bay Area native, Annalyse has found many of her most joyful moments outside of the classroom hiking in the Sierra Nevadas and swimming in the Bay. She was a long-time camper, counselor and supervisor at a Jewish Summer Camp in Yosemite that instilled a deep reverence of nature, gathering in community, and connection to self and others. She has been on meditation retreats to deepen her inner world and hiked 220 miles alone through the Sierra Nevadas on the JMT as a walking meditation. She is thrilled to be able to share the unique depth and love of Waldorf education with students and families in Sonoma County. Annalyse lives with her partner and their flock of furry/feathered friends in Sebastopol.

Andrea Trinei, Registrar & Database Manager
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 124

Andrea was born in San Francisco and has since been a lifelong resident of Sebastopol, where she lives full-time with her husband, cats and chickens, and sometimes with her daughters, Lily (SWSF Class of 2018) and Ella (SWSF Class of 2021). Andrea received a BA degree in Political Science from Sonoma State University and went on to work in the U.S. Capitol and the California State Legislature. These experiences in part led her to Waldorf education, as she quickly learned that she did not want to raise a family who were influenced by media. Andrea began working in the Summerfield office in 2005, first as HR Coordinator, and then, since 2017, as the Registrar and Database Manager. When she’s not working at SWSF she enjoys mile-long swim workouts, traveling to Hawaii and Belgium, and speeding around the Bay Area in her convertible.

Aftercare Program

Acacia Brisbois, Lower School Aftercare Director & Farm Camp Registrar
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 161

Acacia joined the SWSF staff in fall 2018 as a Handwork Assistant in the Lower Grades, and blesses the classroom with her life-long passion for handwork. Her skills have been honed through years of experience professionally sewing custom children’s clothing, stuffed animals, and other crafts. Acacia attended Summerfield as a student, graduating with the first high school class! She is also a Waldorf parent whose youngest daughter is at Summerfield.

Arika Schumacher, Kindergarten Aftercare Coordinator

Arika was raised in North Platte Nebraska, and has been in Sonoma County for 16 years. Arika is currently the Lead Aftercare Teacher in the ECE kindergarten. Arika brings with her a deep love for food, and an appreciation of its role in maintaining a healthy life. After receiving her personal chef certiﬁcation at Bauman College (while simultaneously working herself as a Chef, helping others reach their health goals through implementing food as medicine) she acquired a Permaculture Design Certiﬁcation, as well as a Certiﬁcation in KIVo (Kinetic Voice and movement). She attended Naropa University in Boulder Colorado, double majoring in Psychology and Visual Arts.

Arika is highly interested in the human heart space and Anthroposophy. She completed the ECE Waldorf Teacher training certification in Marin through LifeWays at the end of 2020. She is heart driven to gain wisdom through working with the young child and the earth. Arika’s deep love for children and desire in helping others see their true beauty and inner potential continues to inspire her. She dreams of what this world could become with a little more love and authenticity.

Takako Rasmussen, 5-Day Rosebud Aftercare Coordinator

Takako grew up in Japan and moved to Sonoma county during the summer of 2015 for her son’s second year of his kindergarten at Summerfield. As she started to learn more about Waldorf education through her son, she became aware of the importance of early childhood education for all of our children. She strives to bring the children the simple pleasures of a home-like environment through the rhythms of everyday life. Takako has over twenty years of experience working at various businesses, having graduated from Sugiyama women’s college in Japan. Currently, she has been taking Child Development classes at Santa Rosa Junior College and hopes to add Waldorf teacher education in the near future.

Athletics

Mike Carroll, Athletic Director
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 309

Mike has coached for over 25 years in Sonoma County, including a five-year tenure at Santa Rosa Junior College with Caren Franci. Mike lives in Sebastopol with his bride, Katie Ketchum.

Business Office

Stacey Demidow, Controller
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 113

Stacey Demidow grew up in Southern California and moved to Sebastopol in 1995 where she lives with her Husband and two sons. Stacey became a licensed CPA in 2005 and has worked in both Public Accounting as an Auditor/Tax Senior Accountant and in Private industry as an Accounting Manager/Controller. She is a strong accounting and finance professional skilled in personal financial goal setting/achieving, procedure development, budgeting, cost accounting, financial reporting, profitability analysis, and has specialized in education, small businesses, start-ups, manufacturing and wine industry businesses.

Berenice Hernandez, Finance Associate
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 103

Berenice has lived in Sonoma County since 2003, having moved to Santa Rosa with her family from Modesto. In 2013 as newlyweds, she moved with her husband to Healdsburg where they currently live with their son. Berenice worked in the bank industry for 6 years before joining SWSF, and worked for a vineyard management company in the finance department for 4 years prior to that. She is excited to be part of the Summerfield Waldorf School & Farm community as the Finance Associate. When not at work she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling to new places.

Development

Hayden Terstegge, Development Director
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 105

Hayden, her husband John and their two boys have been a part of the Summerfield community since 2011. Hayden has been a Sonoma county resident since 2007, originally coming from Marin County, where she worked for many years as a bookkeeper for a small business. She started her work here at SWSF as a parent volunteer, and is so thrilled to be a part of the amazing Administrative staff and doing such meaningful work in the Development department. Hayden loves to read, cook and spend time with her family, including two cats and two goats!

Camille Hedges, Development Associate
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 106

Having lived most of her life in Sonoma County, Camille has a broad understanding and appreciation for the landscape and richness that permeates throughout our community. She spent two decades in the corporate world developing and honing her skills as a lead sales and marketing professional. She then followed her passion by earning a certification as an Herbalist from the California School of Herbal Studies. She has represented health and wellness companies from around the world by creating key accounts with retailers throughout the greater Bay Area. Joining the Development Team at SWSF was a natural career progression and a role she cherishes deeply. Building on the foundation formed by past families, staff and faculty, it is her goal to play an integral role in strengthening SWSF so that it can continue to enrich the lives of children for generations to come. Her greatest love, however, is raising her two children who have been deeply rooted in Summerfield’s education since kindergarten. For Camille and her husband, Timothy, there is no greater sense of joy than knowing they are 100% in the best place on earth for their continued growth and development. Each day at Summerfield is a gift to her and her family.

Human Resources

Michelle Bovard, HR Manager
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 126

Michelle was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She earned a B.A. in International Relations, World Trade and Development from UC Davis. Work, postgraduate studies, travel, and many moves followed. Ultimately Michelle and her husband moved to Sebastopol for their three children to attend Summerfield. She has completed three of the four year Waldorf Teacher Training program through the Center for Educational Renewal and has been part of the staff at Summerfield since 2014.

Marketing

Tanya Alexander, Marketing Director
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 104

Tanya is a creative design and marketing professional with over 25 years of proven expertise in all aspects of the strategic creative process (graphic design, web development, marketing & communications, branding & strategy optimization, data analysis, process optimization and project management). She has worked for privately-owned, success-driven companies as well as run several successful business ventures in the creative space. Tanya is also a lifelong, multi-medium fine artist who has enjoyed an eclectic array of creative pursuits. A committed, hands-on learner, she graduated with honors from Sonoma State with a BA in Studio Art (2D Emphasis), with additional focal coursework in marketing & consumer behavior, art history and early childhood development. She has lived in Sonoma County off/on most of her life, and enjoys adventuring through life with her husband and two adult children, and continuing to grow in her creative practice.

Facilities and Grounds

Lisa Hensley, Facilities Manager & Safety Officer
(707) 575-7194, Ext. 107

Lisa grew up just outside of Seattle, Washington. She moved to Southern California to attend the University of California, Irvine where she earned a degree in teaching dance before moving to Sonoma County in 1995. Lisa has worked as Principal’s Secretary at Redwood High School as well as Customer Service Manager for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates building her strong administrative background. Her oldest son, Kai, began attending Summerfield in 2005 and her youngest daughter, Luna, started in 2012. Lisa is currently working in the Finance Office and managing the school’s facilities. Lisa has volunteered extensively at Summerfield over the years. The most rewarding experience for Lisa has been using her dance background to choreograph the Summerfield High School musicals. She is full of gratitude to be a part of the Summerfield community.

Hassan Hall, Building & Maintenance

Bio Coming Soon…

Matt Miller, Groundskeeper

Raised running wild through the woods of Maine by day and nights spent wide-eyed and mesmerized by the Milky Way, Matt has always felt he was a child born of Earth and sky. After two semesters of architecture, he remembered he was meant to be working with his hands in the ground and with sweat on his brow. Embarking on a journey that began with a decade as an estate gardener, Matt’s passion led to advanced training in permaculture, microbiology, Biodynamic practices, and prep-making.

His experiences with the Biodynamic Association of India provided his first exposure to Anthroposophy, gave him language for understanding the cosmic and earthly forces, and connection to a community of incredibly beautiful beings. After a whimsical gaze of the SWSF employment webpage, Matt was thoroughly excited to see a listing advertising the hiring of a Groundskeeper.

It’s Matt’s goal to revitalize the health of Summerfield’s soils and all that grows here… and Matt is always up for talking dogs!🐾

Birgit Landowne, Farmer

Birgit was born and raised in Germany and moved to the US at age 30, retiring from being a professional nurse in the ICU and ER.

“Farming has been my passion and gaining more experience I moved with my husband and two children to Kimberton, PA, where we had a lovely community and watched our children thrive in the Waldorf community.”

After working as a CSA farmer for 15 years, Birgit moved with her family to the Fingerlakes in upstate NY, continuing farming to make a living by selling vegetables at the local Farmers’ Markets, restaurants and stores in the area.

“I am looking forward to life at SWSF, growing food for the lunch program and participating in the community as an experienced farmer and parent.”

Erik Landowne, Farm Assistant

Erik was born in Denmark, and after spending his early childhood in Germany, moved to Chicago at age 9 to attend the Chicago Waldorf school.

“As a third grader with the farm curriculum, I decided to be a farmer and working on Biodynamic^® farms made my dream come true. Working in nature brings me joy and happiness. I also trained as a car mechanic in Germany, and nothing broken can stop me from fixing it!”

“I am excited to join SWSF as an experienced farmer, and participate in the community of Waldorf Education.”

Ann Platz, Custodian
Ann began working at SWSF in 1996 and has 3 grown children who graduated from Summerfield High School: Romney (Class of 2003), Logan (Class of 2006, and Ed (Class of 2008).

Kitchen

Allen Lifson, Chef

Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York. After his family moved to Long Island he was hired by a catering company as a busboy. It wasn’t long before he found himself helping the cooking staff with prep work. He had found his path. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Allen honed his culinary skills in an upscale restaurant and a yacht club. In 1993, he accepted the position of Chef/Manager at the Buckley School in NYC. Along with running the lunch program he began a rooftop top garden and cooking club. Allen is happy to be back at school, where he can feed students fresh organic food that they love.