Advisory Board

Susan Olson is Secretary of the Board of Directors of Awakening Entelechy, a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in California in 2009 to promote cultural transformation by cultivating, supporting, promoting, managing, and funding schools inspired by Waldorf education. Susan has served for six years as the Executive Director of the Sebastopol Independent Charter School, a K-8 Waldorf-inspired school in Sebastopol, CA. Previously, she served as the Administrator of the Pasadena Waldorf School. Susan earned her BA in Political Science and Education from Carleton College; an MA in Geography/African studies from UCLA; and MS in Human Resource Design and Organizational Psychology from Claremont Graduate University; and a Foundation Studies certificate in Waldorf Education from New England Waldorf Teacher Training Center. She is a founding board member of the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education, a national network of public Waldorf schools and educators.  Susan currently serves as the north coast region Member Council Representative of the California Charter Schools Association.

A former Waldorf student, Allegra has been involved with Waldorf education most of her life. She is principal of the George Washington Carver High School for Arts and Sciences in Sacramento, which is inspired by Waldorf education. Beginning in 1994, she was the lead developer, founder and coordinator of the San Francisco Waldorf High School; in this capacity she developed the high school curriculum in alignment with University of California admission standards, recruited and hired teachers, developed outreach and marketing materials, developed the internship program, and generally oversaw all aspects of the developing high school. She also taught English and history and served as the school’s college counselor. Prior to her affiliation with the San Francisco Waldorf High School, Allegra worked as the high school coordinator for the Washington (D.C.) Waldorf School. She has written and lectured on the development of Waldorf high schools. Allegra earned her BA from Pomona College in Spanish Literature and Anthropology; her College Admissions and Career Counseling certificate from U.C. Berkeley; her MA in English Literature from Georgetown University; her Waldorf training certificate from Rudolf Steiner College; and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from U.C. Davis.

Bob Anderson is Senior Assessment Specialist at WestEd, which specializes in assessment and accountability, providing technical assistance on NCLB standards, assessment, and accountability plans to California, the southwest and states throughout the nation. For sixteen years (1988-2004), Bob was a consultant and administrator in the Standards and Assessment Division of the California Department of Education, serving as a writer, editor, speaker, and program administrator, specializing in standards and assessment development, policy, and planning. He currently serves as a federal Peer Reviewer for NCLB state-level standards, assessment, and accountability systems. Bob was a lecturer, associate, and assistant professor in English and Comparative Literature at U.C. Davis from 1976-1978 and from 1983-1989. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Rudolf Steiner College. He received his BA in English from San Francisco State University, his 1970 MA in English Literature, University of California at Davis, 1982, and he advanced to Candidacy for Ph.D. in English Literature, University of California at Davis in 1985.

Rachael has served for fourteen years as the Director of the Novato Charter School, the third Waldorf charter in California. Rachael earned a BA in Art History and Ceramics from the University of Colorado, a BA in Psychology and California teaching credential from Sonoma State University, an MA in Human Development from Dominican University and her Waldorf training from Rudolf Steiner College. Prior to joining Novato Charter, Rachael taught grades 1-4 at Sonoma Valley Waldorf School and grades 1-4 at Sonoma Meadow Oaks Waldorf School. She is the mother of twins.

Nora Ching Courtright serves Credo as a development consultant and mentor to our Mandarin program. A native Chinese speaker, she earned her BA in Economics from National Taiwan University, and her MA in Asian Studies with a minor in Linguistics from Ohio State University, where she also completed coursework for a Ph.D. in Art History. In 1972, Nora began teaching East Asian Language and Literature at Ohio State, where she received the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award in 1975. In 1979, she joined the Office of the Governor and International Trade Division for the State of Ohio. She led the first American government trade mission to China (and subsequently five other such missions) and established the Hubei Province-State of Ohio sister relationship, the first such relationship between China and the U.S. From 1983-1987 Nora served as the World Trade Manager for the State of Ohio.  From 1987-2002 she was founder, owner and president of Ching and Associates, Inc., a trading and consulting firm in the field of international trade with an emphasis on China to government and private industry. Now retired, Nora brings her expertise in Chinese language and culture in service to Credo High.

Nina is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Sonoma, CA and has worked with children, teens, and families for more than forty years through the arts, education and counseling.  Holding a BS in Fine Arts from UC Berkeley and a MS in Counseling Education from San Diego State University, she received her Waldorf Education at Emerson College, England, her Eurythmy diploma in Dornach, Switzerland, and Curative Eurythmy Certificate in England. Teaching art and Eurythmy in public schools and private Waldorf schools, she also worked in special education in Camphill, England and in Chicago’s inner city at Esperanza School, training with Dr. Traute Page.  For the past 22 years Nina has worked in schools, hospices, and social service agencies, developing programs in the field of Death, Dying and Bereavement. In 2000, she founded Sonoma’s WillMar Center for Bereaved Children, designed to serve children and teens who have lost loved ones or have family members with life-changing illness; Nina served as Executive Director for seven years. Valuing multi-cultural and generational experiences, Nina has taught people of all ages in the U.S., England, Scotland, Italy, Spain and Hungary. As an artist, teacher, and counselor, Nina lectures, facilitates groups and consults for universities and training centers in the U.S.  She is a member of CAMFT, The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists; ADEC, The Association of Death, Education and Counseling; The National Association of Poetry Therapy and The Poetry Foundation. She is a volunteer tutor for the Sonoma County Literacy Program. What has remained close to her heart throughout her career is her passion for the arts, children, and Steiner Education.  Nina is a professional portrait artist and is currently writing a book on her work with grieving children.

Josh Newman, President & CEO of EdTEc, a professional services firm that brings high-level expertise to solving the business problems of charter schools. Josh started his career as an educational policy analyst for the California Post-secondary Education Commission. He then joined the staff of the State Legislature, and wrote legislation affecting California’s public education system including the landmark AB 803 which established the state’s school computer technology infrastructure. After earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, Josh worked in industry for a dozen years, first as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and then as a senior executive in venture-backed high technology companies, serving as the CEO of two such companies. In 2001 Josh returned to education by first working as a senior executive at Leapfrog Enterprises, a $500 million global manufacturer of electronic learning toys. Also in 2001, he founded EdTec Inc. to provide complete outsourced business services to charter schools in California. EdTec combines his background in educational policy, his desire to help reform public education in California, and his background in helping to start and manage small, growing organizations. Josh holds a BA from UC Davis and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Dr. Ida Oberman is former Director of Research and Evaluation at the Springboard Schools. Her previous professional responsibilities have included: program officer for education at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, classroom teacher for a decade, and co-founder of a Waldorf public school in Harlem's District three. Dutch born and Waldorf educated in Germany, Ida received her Waldorf training in Stuttgart, her BA from Swarthmore and her Ph.D. in Education from Stanford. Ida has conducted extensive research on the effectiveness of public school inspired by Waldorf education, and she is a frequent author and lecturer on this topic. She is lead developer for the Community School for Creative Education a bi-lingual charter school inspired by Waldorf education scheduled to open 2011 in Oakland, CA.

Sheila Reilly became the Administrator of Woodland Star Charter School in Sonoma in 2008. Prior to taking the helm, she served as Assistant Administrator during which time she oversaw charter renewal for the school and managed the school’s accreditation, making Woodland Star the first WASC accredited Waldorf-inspired charter school in California. Sheila earned her BA in Marketing from Eastern Illinois University, her RN degree from Santa Rosa Junior College, her Waldorf Foundation Year from Rudolf Steiner College; and she is an MBA candidate at Sonoma State University. Prior to joining Woodland Star, Sheila owned and managed small businesses with responsibilities including operations, finance, human resources, marketing and new business development. Sheila is a long-time student of Waldorf education and the mother of two daughters, who attend Woodland Star.

Bonnie River serves as Director of Teacher Preparation, Hybrid Program and Director of Advanced Studies in Waldorf, Hybrid Program at Rudolf Steiner College, where she plays a lead role in educating teachers for public schools inspired by Waldorf education. With more than 30 years experience in teaching, Bonnie brings a wealth of insight and innovative approaches to meeting children’s needs. Bonnie has taught in public schools, Montessori schools, and, mainly, Waldorf schools. She has founded two Waldorf schools; and she has been an innovative consultant to many others. She has been a keynote speaker at many international educational conferences and is highly regarded as a pioneer in the effort to bring therapeutic and compassionate interventions into Waldorf school settings. Bonnie has served as a delegate for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, and she now serves on the board of directors of the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education. Bonnie currently serves as the accreditation specialist at Rudolf Steiner College. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of La Verne.

Betty Staley has been a Waldorf teacher for over thirty-five years. She directs the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program at Rudolf Steiner College, and is currently a consultant to the George Washington Carver High School for Arts and Sciences in Sacramento, to the Peninsula Waldorf High School initiative in Los Altos and the Desert Marigold Charter High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Betty was a founder and long-time teacher at the Sacramento Waldorf High School, where she still teaches. In addition, she has been active in programs for public school teachers and teachers of at-risk students. She lectures widely on Waldorf education, specializing in the middle-school and high school grades, and has published several books on this subject and other aspects of Waldorf eucation.

Sam Stier works for The Biomimicry Institute, where he serves as Director of K-12 & Non-formal Education. He has more than twelve years experience working on ecological education, wildlife conservation, and environmental policy. Sam began teaching as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines, conducting outdoor, inquiry-based ecological education, and then worked with 1st, 4th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers in the U.S. developing and testing outdoor, inquiry-based curricula as a National Science Foundation Fellow. With The Biomimicry Institute, he has worked on science curricula development for young people ages 3-18, now being used in schools across the country. Regionally, for example, a collaboration with the Montana Natural History Center introduces over 1,000 elementary students in forty-five classrooms per year to biomimicry through an outdoor learning program. Sam has an undergraduate degree from Brown University in Communications and graduate degree from the University of Montana in Natural Resource Conservation and Management.