2nd Grade Guardian
Main Lesson Teacher

Cara holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Literature from the University of Texas, is a trained and experienced massage and energy based bodywork practitioner and is a certified Waldorf Educator. Cara brings over twenty years teaching experience beginning as a Kindergarten assistant at the Ithaca Waldorf School, to the nursery and eventually as a class teacher and learning support tutor at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School. Cara met Anthroposophy at age 14 and studied child development, biodynamic agriculture as well as a wide range of spiritual studies throughout her teens and early twenties which enriched her parenting of three wonderful children. She has lived in the Hudson Valley for 10 years and enjoys her work with the Phoenix Initiative immensely as it brings all she loves about educating children into a true practice.

3rd/4th Grade Guardian
Main Lesson Teacher

Elsa Gomez trained as a holistic life coach and bodyworker at World School of Massage and Holistic Healing Arts in San Francisco CA where she completed a teacher training program and was invited to join as a faculty member facilitating workshops and trainings for various programs. She received her degree in neuroscience at Washington State University where she worked in Dr. Christine Portfors’ lab researching auditory processing in the brain.

She was a contributing author to the article: "Pharmacologic and Optogenetic Manipulation of the Dopamine System Alters Auditory Processing in the Inferior Colliculus" and presented her contributions at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in 2018. She has worked extensively in STEM outreach; visiting schools, youth shelters, youth correctional facilities with NW Noggin in Oregon, neuroscience outreach group, and as a volunteer educator in the Chemistry Lab at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Elsa Gomez shares her love for numbers and arithmetic as part of her math Main Lesson blocks and enjoys bringing stories of her culture and upbringing through her Spanish classes. She is completing her certificate in Spirit-led Education for a Spirit-led Life through EduCareDo. She lives in upstate NY.

1st Grade Guardian
5th Grade Guardian
Main Lesson Teacher

Meaghan has worked with parents and families in a variety of capacities for over twenty years, including as an early childhood and parent-child educator and currently as the founder, main lesson teacher and mentor of a spirit-led education initiative in upstate NY. The Phoenix Initiative is dedicated to freedom for all in education. Meaghan also teaches and facilitates the Health and Wellbeing programs on behalf of Developing the Self Developing the World. This work has brought her to numerous schools across the country and in Canada where she teaches students in 4th - 12 Grades, and offers professional development training for faculty and school communities. Meaghan also works through consultation directly with parents and families in the home-setting offering practical support and understanding of child development from birth through adolescence, in the light of anthroposophy.

As an artist with a degree in theater, performance, and English Studies, Meaghan’s artistic work explores how music and story support inner and outer striving within the human condition. Meaghan has led singing, performance, and movement workshops in various contexts for children, teenagers, and adults. She is a contributing author of the Spirit-led Education for a Spirit-led Life subject course and the co-author of the EduCareDo subject course Speech and Drama as Living Arts.

Main Lesson Teacher
Drama, Speech and Movement Teacher

Séamus completed his degree in acting at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. While there, he studied speech, classical acting and Shakespeare with Patsy Rodenburg. Prior to that he trained intensively in the Michael Chekhov Technique for many years studying and performing with Ted Pugh and Fern Sloan who founded the Actor’s Ensemble based in Hudson NY. He then attended Artemis School of Speech and Drama in West Sussex England where he studied Rudolf Steiner’s approach to speech formation with master speech artist Christopher Garvey. Alongside his work as an actor he trained in classical guitar, performance, composition and songwriting. Séamus has worked as a professional actor, musician and speech artist on stages in NYC, London, Europe, Belgium and Australia and has taught speech, movement, acting, drama and music for all ages in a variety of contexts, including at a number of well known universities, Waldorf schools and many alternative education settings. Séamus has taught the art of speech at Inner Work Path workshops. He currently works as a freelance teaching artist, artistic director, playwright and performer. He is a founding faculty member of The Phoenix Initiative and the artistic director of The Actors’ Ensemble.

In addition to his work as a teacher and performing artist Séamus is also co-author of Speech and Drama as Living Arts, a long distance course through EducareDo. He is also the author of the bookParzival - A Journey of Initiation and specializes in teaching the Parzival and Arthurian legends as part of the curriculum in Waldorf/Steiner schools.

Main Lesson Teacher
Speciality Teacher

Lisa Damian has been a Waldorf educator for 30 years, teaching elementary and middle grades, and high school where she’s taught main lessons, movement and art classes. 
She’s trained as a movement therapist through the Spacial Dynamics Institute as well as a Curative Educator through Mulberry Center for Curative Education.  She brings a therapeutic eye to her work with children, whether teaching handwork, movement, artistic or academic work which allows those subjects to be tailored to the developmental needs of the child/student.