Faculty & Staff

OUR LEAD TEACHERS

 

Mindylee Hill
Early Childhood

Mindylee graduated from The University of Oregon in 1998. After graduation and the birth of her first child, she returned to her home in Philadelphia. There Mindy worked and was involved as a parent at the Waldorf School of Philadelphia. Upon returning to the Pacific NorthWest Mindy came to Portland where she completed her Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher training at The Micha-el Institute and was a kindergarten teacher at the Portland Village School. In her free time, Mindy enjoys walks in nature, Expanding her culinary repertoire, crafting, and dancing.

Jen Davis
Class of 2031
Jen received her Waldorf Teacher Training certificate from the Micha-el Institute. Moving to Portland from San Antonio, Jen discovered her passion for Waldorf education through her experience homeschooling her children in grades 1 to 3. She delights in the new experiences gained daily from her involvement in the Waldorf community in Portland. In her free time, Jen enjoys training for races, reading good novels, and spending time with her family. Jen is a founding member of our College of Teachers.


Rae DiCicco
Class of 2030

Ms. Di Cicco grew up on a farm in California, digging in the dirt, watching seeds grow, and caring for baby quail with gentle hands. Ms. Di Cicco pursued her passion for art in college; she received a bachelor’s in art history from the University of Washington and a master’s in art history from the University of Pittsburgh. She has over eight years’ experience teaching at the college level and is passionate about helping students gain new perspectives and find value in subjects that come easily to them as well as those that challenge them.

 

Jaia Bollard
Class of 2029

Jaia has been a class teacher since 2011, and is a Waldorf Alumna herself! As a lifelong lover of learning, Jaia appreciates the fact that she can be immersed in the wonders of the Waldorf curriculum along with her students as they learn through the grades. She loves her students deeply, and enjoys seeing each of them develop their strengths as they grow into full human beings. Jaia grew up in the jungles of Hawaii, and loves being able to revel in the green beauty of the Pacific Northwest’s woods, rivers, and coastline. Jaia received her Waldorf Teaching Certificate from Micha-el Institute, after completing a MEd in Elementary Education at Portland State and a BA in International Affairs at Lewis and Clark College.

Deborah Markus
Class of 2028

Deborah Markus has been teaching elementary and middle school students for over 15 years. In 2017, she completed an eight-year journey with her first class at Micha-el. She then picked up a second class the following autumn and spent 4 years with them before making the difficult decision to step away from her full-time teaching duties to focus on my M. Ed. program. Before working in Waldorf schools, Deborah spent a year in Thailand teaching English to second-grade public school students. In addition to teaching children, Deborah has been on the summer faculty of the Micha-el Institute since 2017. As an instructor at the Institute, she teaches curriculum courses to Waldorf teacher trainees and practicing teachers seeking refresher material before moving into the next grade in the autumn. Last semester, Deborah had the opportunity to work on some part-time projects at the Waldorf School of Limassol in Cyprus.

Brittina Gates
Class of 2027

Brittina was born and raised in Oregon. Her personal grade school experience with Waldorf Education led her to pursue Teacher Training at the Micha-el Institute after graduating with honors from Portland State University with a B.A. in Sociology. Singing, stories, crafts and teaching math are some of her favorite aspects of working with children. Brittina enjoys reading and weekly visits to her local library. She also has a passion for cooking, finding new recipes in cooking magazines, teardrop camping, playing Scrabble, crabbing and rock hounding. Her home and hobby farm is in Rickreall on 2.36 acres. This keeps her family busy nearly year-round with flowers, fruits, nuts, vegetables and a variety of animals. Brittina also enjoys getting out in nature while shed or mushroom collecting with her husband, daughter Willa, and her silly and faithful Corgi, Hunter.

 

Tammy Wagner
Class of 2026

Tammy Wagner has taught school for over thirty years, first as a middle school science teacher, then a Waldorf remedial and class teacher. Tammy holds her BS and MS in  Elementary Education and her Waldorf Remedial Teacher Certification. When not teaching you can find Tammy doing yoga, playing pickleball, gardening and being in nature. She and her husband Bill have two grown children who are Waldorf alumni from Pre K - HIgh School.

Ivana Deletis
Class of 2025
Ms. Deletis was born in Croatia and emigrated to the east coast where she learned about Rudolf Steiner while attending New York University.  She moved to Portland in 2003 to study Waldorf education and has since been a teacher in many different capacities. She loves doing chalkboard drawings and integrating art and movement in her lessons.  Adolescents hold a special place in her heart.  She finds inspiration from her incredible colleagues, time spent in nature, and dancing.

 
 

SUBJECT TEACHERS

Rachel Hitchcock, Kindergarten Assistant

James McDonald, Middle School Math
James spent his formative years in Oregon, climbing trees, wading in rivers, and indulging in every season. His passion for literature and for education drew him to earn his BA in Creative Writing (Pacific University) and his MA in Teaching (Lewis & Clark College). He has taught in Oregon, Thailand, Colorado, and Alaska—ten of those years as a middle school classroom teacher in Waldorf charter schools. In addition to teaching, James loves traveling (twenty-two countries so far), cooking, reading, writing, playing chess, strumming the ukulele, and spending time with his newborn son, Ruskin, and life-partner, Kalysta. He looks forward to teaching the middle schoolers math, it being one of his favorite subjects to teach!

Maria Cordero, Spanish
I was born in Costa Rica and I have been living in Oregon for almost 10 years. My love for Waldorf education started when my son Naïm was born. I wanted to find an alternative education for him and I was studying Metaphysics and Spiritual Sciences at the time… in the curriculum we were learning about Rudolf Steiner and I knew in my heart this was the kind of education I wanted for my children. I went to a French immersion and teaching languages have always been a part of my life as a tutor, privately, as a sub, online… Later on I decided to blend my ways of teaching with the Waldorf methodology.

Manuela Muslof, German
Manuela was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. She immigrated to the the United States after she was married in 2001 and taught German at a Saturday School in California. All three of her children are students at Waldorf schools. This is her sixth year teaching German at Micha-el School where she feels very lucky to be part of the wonderful and supportive community.

Amanda LeonardEurythmy
Amanda grew up in rural Montana, the widths of land and sky nurturing an adventurous spirit. After graduating with a BA in Sociology from Seattle Pacific University, she moved to the intentional biodynamic farming community of Camphill Minnesota. While there, she learned about and grew interested in Waldorf Education and Eurythmy. In 2014 she completed her 4-year Eurythmy Training in Boulder, CO. She immediately moved to Portland, OR so she could join the Portland Eurythmy performance group. She has been teaching eurythmy at the Micha-el School since 2020. She loves to bike, spend time with family, and explore creative pursuits.

Charles Copeland, Eurythmy Pianist

Nanni Richardson, Handwork
Nanni Richardson was born and raised in Portland, and recently returned after seven years in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. In Colorado, she graduated with a BA in Environment and Sustainability from Western Colorado University and also holds a Certificate in Organic Farming from Clackamas Community College. After spending a number of years farming professionally, she recently decided to pivot to pursue her love of art and is very excited to join the Waldorf community. She has been enthralled with the world of fiber arts since adolescence - when she learned to knit, crochet and sew - and looks forward to sharing that love with her students. When she’s not crafting, she can be found gardening, rollerskating at the skatepark, rock climbing, making art, skiing on Mt. Hood or getting outside with her dog, Charlie. 

Brandi GrahekMusic
Brandi grew up in South Dakota where her love of music began at a young age. She began with orchestra, learning the violin and viola, and would eventually pick up the guitar, singing, and piano. She attended Portland State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and a minor in Psychology in the summer of 2019. Along with working at Micha-el School, she currently teaches private lessons at several local music schools. When she’s not teaching music, she enjoys performing and has spent time touring with various bands. She also enjoys composing her own music. She is a devoted yogi whose patience and persistence guide her teaching style.

Janu Mannick, Games

Leilani Westover, Aftercare
Leilani has loved working with children for as long as she can remember. As the oldest cousin and sibling in the family she was often called upon to look after her younger family members and soon realized just how much she enjoyed it. She has also volunteered in daycare centers over the years and taken many courses on child care. When her daughter was born she wanted to find a way to be with her while also making an income so she took up nannying and has been doing that for 7 years now. Leilani joined the Micha-el staff after enrolling her daughter at the school.  In her free time she enjoys hiking, studying psychology, listening to music, cooking and being with family.

Regann Bell, Aftercare
I was born and raised in Indiana. I am the 2nd oldest of 7 siblings. I started working with children at the age of 17, before that I was the go to babysitter for friends and family. Professionally I’ve worked as a nanny, teaching assistant and caregiver. I’ve lived in the Portland area for 5 years. I have volunteered watching children in certain causes and women’s gatherings. I have a profound love for all that is natural and magical. Things I like to do in my free time are; discovering places in nature, camping, road trips and traveling, studying different forms of spirituality as well as practicing, attending concerts and plays, open mics, writing poetry, listening and creating music and art.


OUR STAFF

Patricia Michaels, Office Coordinator

Kate Halle, Admissions and Outreach Coordinator

Ashlan Taylor, Marketing