Our Teachers
Get to know The Wonderful teachers at The Academy
Jamie York
Math Missionary, Lead Author, and Academy Director
Jamie York is an internationally respected Waldorf math consultant, and lead author of Making Math Meaningful™ books. Jamie was born in Maine, went to public school in Connecticut, received two computer science degrees, and then began teaching math in 1985 at a boarding school in New Hampshire. In 1994, after spending two years in Nepal serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, Jamie’s search for meaningful education led him to Shining Mountain Waldorf School (in Boulder, Colorado), where he taught middle school and high school math for 21 years. Now, as a math missionary, he travels across the U.S. and internationally offering workshops for teachers so they can re-imagine mathematics and inspire their students. Making Math Meaningful™ books are the manifestation of his vision for a comprehensive mathematics curriculum that spans grades one through twelve. Jamie’s website, online math workshops, and books are resources for Waldorf teachers around the world.
Maria Cabeza
Math and Science
Maria Cabeza was born in Southern California and raised in Boulder Colorado, Maria attended Waldorf schools throughout the grades. She met Jamie as his student in 6th grade and had the privilege of studying with him through twelfth grade. She earned a degree in environmental engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder and developed an infectious curiosity about the natural world. Maria is especially interested in how studying the sciences can support our understanding of life on planet Earth and optimal living. In her free time, she has conducted extensive research into nutrition, as well as the practice of breath work and meditation.
Maria has been with Jamie York academy since its inception.
Juan Pablo Barillas
Humanities and Spanish
Juan Pablo Barillas is a pioneering Waldorf teacher in Guatemala. He was a founding teacher at Colegio Waldorf Guatemala (a K-12 school of more than 500 students), teaching there for seven years, and serving on leadership. Born and raised in Guatemala, Juan Pablo went to a bilingual school (English and Spanish) and then helped to create a bilingual program for Colegio Waldorf. He sees language as a window into a culture. At the Universidad Del Valle de Guatemala, Juan Pablo studied civil engineering, and in true renaissance fashion graduated with a qualification as a high school history teacher. He has taught a wide variety of subjects to students in middle school and high school, including history, philosophy, mathematics, and physics. Juan Pablo is currently part of the faculty for the Great Lakes Waldorf Institute (based in Minnesota), which offers professional development and Waldorf teacher education programs. Juan Pablo is also the author of a Parenting and Teaching blog called “Waldorf en Español”, you can check it out at: https://waldorfenespanol.com/
Celeste Guthrie
Language Arts
Celeste Guthrie was born and raised in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and received her BA Philosophy from the University of Ottawa. She has a diverse background in teaching and tutoring that spans over two decades and multiple countries. Her interest in teaching was first ignited while volunteering at a center supporting disabled children in Guatemala. Celeste completed her Waldorf teacher training at the Rudolf Steiner College Canada, in Toronto and embarked on her teaching career at the Los Charcos Waldorf School in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, serving as both a lower primary teacher, as well as Faculty Chair. She then moved on to teach English and Theater, (grades 5-9) at Victoria Robbins School, also in San Miguel de Allende, which solidified her passion for teaching Language Arts and enhancing students’ writing skills. Celeste’s teaching experience continued at the Nelson Waldorf School in British Columbia, where she taught two class cycles; grades 2-6. In addition to her formal teaching roles, Celeste founded and directed Camp Gaia, an organic farming and arts summer camp in Mexico. Celeste is currently a member of a reputable team of family counselors, educational consultants and tutors where she provides tutoring and homeschool support classes to students in grades 1-12 in Nelson, British Columbia.
SEAN ARONSON
Math Academy Tutor and Summer Camp Instructor
Sean Aronson originally studied engineering but discovered the joy of teaching after tutoring math as an undergraduate student and teaching in Mexico. Sean taught elementary and high school math in Denver Public Schools for seven years and then taught math at Red Rocks Community College for three years before embarking on less traditional teaching endeavors that include homeschooling his own children, designing and teaching math-art classes, and teaching with Jamie York. Working with Jamie York and using the Making Math Meaningful™ curriculum has proven to be a perfect fit for Sean’s approach to math education.
DAVID SLOAN
High School Humanities Teacher
David Sloan has been teaching humanities in Waldorf schools for over four decades. After graduating from Harvard College, he received his Waldorf teacher training at Emerson College in England, and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Program. A long-time faculty member at Green Meadow Waldorf School in New York, he also helped to found two other high schools: Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, CO, and Maine Coast Waldorf School (then Merriconeag) in Freeport, ME. He has written two books on Waldorf pedagogy: Stages of Imagination: Working Dramatically with Adolescents, and Life Lessons: Reaching Teenagers through Literature, as well as two collections of poetry: The Irresistible In-Between, and A Rising and Other Poems. He currently lives in Brunswick, Maine with his wife Christine, sharing their appreciation of the ever-changing seasons and the joys of grandparenting. He continues to teach in the Center for Anthroposophy’s High School Teacher Training Program, as he has for over twenty years.
David Barham
Math & Humanities teacher
Niek A.H. Slooter, MEd. MSc.
Biology & Chemistry teacher
Niek was born and raised in The Netherlands and was always passionate about biology. From childhood on he was always in and around water and also started scuba diving very early. After high school he followed his passion and studied biology at the Wageningen University and Radboud University Nijmegen. First he started his teacher education degree and after receiving this (MEd.) he did his Master of Science (MSc.). Then Niek worked for a few years as a marine researcher and published several articles. After some time doing scientific research, he discovered a new career as a Waldorf teacher and that really changed his life in a very positive way. For 15 years, he has been teaching 7th to 12th class biology, chemistry and physics at a Waldorf school in The Netherlands. Every year he gave 13 main lesson blocks, he was responsible for exam classes and was a class teacher for many years. He also went each year to the full week Waldorf teachers conference in Kassel (Germany) where he contributed by giving lessons as a teacher for teachers but also hosted daily excursions and discussion groups. At the moment he focuses more and more on homeschool teaching abroad, Waldorf student projects and online teaching to different students and classes worldwide.
Beth Moger
Science Academy Astronomy Teacher
Beth Moger. A waldorf graduate and former student of Jamie York, Beth holds a degree in astronomy from the University of Colorado with a focus in planetary dynamics and minors in theater and geology. She worked in the Astrophysical and Planetary Science department as a Learning Assistant under seven professors during her time at CU Boulder, leading recitations and labs for courses such as Introductory Astronomy, Planetary Systems, Stars and Galaxies, and Ancient Astronomies of the World. Beth spent five years at Fiske Planetarium running the public lecture series, Colorado Skies, and teaching astronomy in the planetarium dome. Beth went on to serve as the head of Science Development at Sky-Skan, where she worked as an astronomer creating software visualizations of the universe for researchers, educators, and science centers in 38 countries. Her background in science, education, performance, and management serves Beth today as the founding consultant of Astra Ventures, serving both informal and formal education communities to promote astronomy and a connection with the awesome environment above us.
Mick Follari
High School Physics & Math Teacher
Co-author of Making Math Meaningful™: Fun with Puzzles, Games and More!
Mick Follari is a Waldorf graduate, Brown University Engineering graduate, and Waldorf math and science teacher. He is a renaissance man with diversity of interests but a special love of problem-solving, scientific and spiritual philosophy, and outdoor adventure. He has taught in Waldorf Schools around the country, developed courses in mathematics and physics, co-authored a math book, and consulted with developing schools. He is an entrepreneur and business development consultant with a history in web development and design, CPG product development, and visual arts. An avid alpinist and climber, Mick lives in Boulder, Colorado but spends a lot of time hanging on cliffs and mountains of rock and ice around the world
WIM GOTTENBOS AND NETTIE FABRIE
Co-authors of Making Math Meaningful™: A Source Book for Teaching Math in Grades One – Five
Nettie Fabrie began her 40-year teaching career in the Netherlands – first in the public schools, and then as a Waldorf class teacher, taking two classes from first through eighth grade. From 2001-2018 Nettie served as a teacher and then the pedagogical director at the Seattle Waldorf School. She founded a Waldorf teacher training program in the Czech Republic and directs the Grade School Teacher Training at Sound Circle Center in Seattle. Additionally, she is part of the Teacher Education Delegates Circle (TEDC) and plays a leadership role in AWSNA. In her free time Nettie enjoys working in the garden, going to the theater, concerts and art museums.
Wim Gottenbos taught in Dutch public schools for 12 years before training and becoming a Waldorf teacher. He then carried three classes at the Seattle Waldorf school. In 2017, he retired from class teaching and started working as a mentor and evaluator in various schools in the Pacific Northwest. He is also part of the Mentorship Seminar and teacher training program at Sound Circle Center. Wim’s passions include beekeeping, gardening and reading.
Randy Evans
Co-author of Making Math Meaningful™: Fun with Puzzles, Games and More!
Randy Evans’ love affair with games started early in childhood and grew into a lifetime passion. He graduated from Duke University with a BA in Philosophy in 1988 and also received a J.D. from the University of Denver, College of Law in 1992. Randy has retired from teaching full-time but still can be found teaching the occasional main lesson in Richmond, VA and trying to turn the local community into rabid gaming geeks.
Julia E. Diggins
Author of String, Straightedge, and Shadow
Julia E. Diggins taught mathematics for many years in Washington, DC and completed her undergraduate work in mathematics at Trinity College in Washington. She then attended the Catholic University of America where she received an MA in psychology. While teaching mathematics in junior high school, she was awarded grants by the National Science Foundation to attend courses at Rutgers University, Boston College, and the University of Maryland where she worked with members of the Maryland University Mathematics Project on the preparation of a new curriculum. Subsequently, she began to devote herself entirely to teaching “modern” mathematics for elementary school teachers at the University of Maryland. Julia Diggins died in 1987.
Andrew Starzynski
Co-author of Making Math Meaningful™: High School Workbooks
Staff
Karen van Vuuren
In 2011, Karen van Vuuren took over as publisher of Jamie’s math curriculum books when his former publisher retired. What began as a small publishing company, Jamie York Press, transformed into a much more comprehensive educational offering, including online teacher workshops (filmed, produced, and edited by Karen), and now Jamie York Academy.
Karen’s other work in life, part of her life’s mission, is as a natural death care educator. Over a twenty year career in the field, she has run an educational end-of-life non-profit, Natural Transitions, co-owned a holistic funeral home, and has directed two hospice documentaries.
