Jessica comes to Nova High after serving for five years as the School Director of Berkeley Rose Waldorf School. Before that, she spent thirteen years co-creating and co-leading Three Stone Hearth Community Supported Kitchen in Berkeley, a business specializing in nutrient dense foods made from local produce, pastured meats, and traditional grains. She is the author of Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection, published in 2006 by Chelsea Green Publishing, and a co-creator of The Local Foods Wheel. She is passionate about Waldorf Education, and is a keen student of Anthroposophy. As a mother to a feisty fourteen year old son, she is excited to help bring the important and meaningful work of Steiner-inspired secondary education to Bonner County.

Michele is a master teacher that witnesses daily the wonder of Waldorf education embodied in her students and own children. During her undergrad years, she spent her days homeschooling her three children and founding a Waldorf-inspired school called Windsong School that still thrives today. Once she became a trained Waldorf teacher, Michele moved her growing family to the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado to teach first grade and finally enroll all of her children at a Waldorf School. In pursuit of a Waldorf experience that went through high school for her kids, her heart eventually led her to Maine and a grades teacher position at a K–12 Waldorf school. After having her 5th child, she and her partner decided to follow their shared dream of opening an Organic Juice Bar in Freeport, Maine. She loved and saw first-hand the gift of the Waldorf High School experience her successful older children received and upon moving back home to the Idaho Pan Handle, Michele quickly became actively engaged in the local Waldorf community as a teacher and leader, setting her sights on opening a local Waldorf-inspired High School. Michele is a board member of The Panida Theater. She is an entrepreneur, a visionary, a writer, an artist, and a lover of all things water. She is currently building her own design business and can be found at StardustandAsh.com.

Michael’s Waldorf teaching began in 2003 when he graduated from the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training and took a first-grade class in San Rafael, California. However, the allure of the mountains and small-town Sandpoint drew his family to the Sandpoint Waldorf School in 2005 to teach a new first grade. Michael’s love for educating children resulted in his shepherding two classes from first through eighth grades. Working with exuberance, Michael has endeavored to master each of the many subjects a Waldorf Teacher is called upon to teach. Along the way, he discovered a special love for drama and musicals in particular. Teaching middle school also reawakened the scientist which had lain dormant since his years studying science at Cornell University. Michael is excited to join Nova High and share these passions.

Ann grew up in northern California under the immense and powerful presence of Mount Shasta. Growing up in the mountains instilled in her a deep and lasting love for the

natural world. Ann has always been a maker…trying her hand at sewing, painting, collage, felting, and basketry, her true love. Ann’s perfect day is one spent digging in the

garden, harvesting wild willow for baskets, or weaving baskets punctuated by a swim in the lake. Once graduated from high school, Ann became a Registered Nurse and worked in that profession for about 20 years. She

discovered Waldorf Education as a young mother

living in Mount Shasta, where she completed a four-year training in Eurythmy at the American Eurythmy School. She went on to teach Eurythmy to children and adults, both at the Sandpoint Waldorf School and at the Whatcom Hills Waldorf School in Bellingham, Washington. While living in Bellingham, she completed her Waldorf Teacher Training at Sound Circle Teacher Training in Seattle. Ann has taken two classes through

elementary school at Whatcom Hills; the first class, grades 4 – 8 and the second class, grades 1 – 8. Ann holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities from Washington State University.

Presently, Ann is a mentor for teachers at the Sandpoint Waldorf School and teaches academic blocks there and Nova High School. Additionally, she is a member of the

Nova High Board, where she serves as the secretary and member of the site committee. A life-long learner, she recently completed a Yoga teacher training and enjoys teaching a couple classes a week at WE Yoga in downtown Sandpoint.

Coming Soon!

A native to the Hudson Valley region of New York, Elisabeth and her family were drawn to the pastoral beauty of Sandpoint eight years ago. Elisabeth graduated from Crane School of Music with a degree in choral and instrumental music education. She began her teaching career as an upper grades public school choral/instrumental teacher on Long Island. After earning a masters degree in Waldorf Education from Sunbridge College, she has been, at various times: a Waldorf class teacher, a music teacher, a theater director, a writing teacher, an academic support teacher, and a private music lesson teacher both independently and in Waldorf schools. She is excited to become a part of Nova High.

Hannah grew up in North Idaho, where she first tutored math as a teenager at her dad's outdoor school. With a master's degree in education and nearly 15 years of teaching experience, including time in New York City public schools, she loves fostering independence and curiosity in her students. When she's not teaching, Hannah enjoys playing in the lakes and mountains with her husband, son,

and pup. She is grateful for the opportunity to share her lifelong love of music and math with the Nova community.

Coming Soon!

Ryan grew up in Michigan and Atlanta. He really enjoyed the winters in Michigan, where he would play outside in the snow. He attended Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where he studied, outdoor recreational leadership. He spent a lot of time outside pursuing that degree and enjoying life. His main passions were and still are skiing powder, snowboarding powder, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, soaking in the hot springs, backpacking, camping, rock climbing and traveling. He feels very blessed to now have the opportunity to share that passion with Nova teens.

He worked with children while he was in Steamboat and he taught the 4-6 year olds how to ski. He found a passion for teaching at that time and had loads of fun sliding down the snow while the little ones were grinning ear to ear smiling their hearts out. 

He was also the surf coach at a Waldorf school in Costa Rica at Casa de las estrellas. They had a surf club after school twice a week where over 20 kids would come down to the yoga rancho, do some dryland exercises and then head down to the beach to surf. He had 3 other  assistant coaches during that time and everyone really enjoyed working and playing with the children.

  His enjoyment for teaching continued to grow when he lived near  Aspen. He worked for the Aspen valley ski club where he coached the 9 and 10-year-olds youth development group.

He has a strong passion for play. He enjoys all sorts of games and sports. He loves bringing this passion to the Nova High community. ​

Coming Soon!

As a child and young adult, Mikkel always knew she wanted to teach, but had a strong desire to gain life experience first. In her early 20’s, she spent a year as an AmeriCorps member helping run a service learning program at an inner city school in San Diego. She completed a B.S. in Biology at Pacific Lutheran University and worked for nearly 20 years in the worker’s compensation industry, assisting injured workers in their return to work, and eventually moving into the field of ergonomics. This culminated in seven years on the Microsoft ergonomics team and the creation of her own ergonomics firm, Conscious Design Ergonomics, which she operated for six years. In 2019, answering her heart’s call, she chose to pursue certifications in functional nutrition and health coaching. She founded Conscious Design Healing Arts and currently works with one client at a time in the residential healing cottage she and her husband built, Danny’s Place. She teaches middle school math at Selle Valley Carden School and is thrilled to provide math instruction at Nova High. Both of Mikkel’s children were Waldorf-educated in their early years and Mikkel is passionate about helping create a revolutionary way of educating our next generation that is more expansive and child-centered.