Michelle Frame: President

Joined SWS Board in 2004, term ends in 2010

Michelle works as a director of quality assurance for an international pharmaceutical company. Her work combines her love of science and commitment to the public good. Michelle attended UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University where she majored in Biochemistry with a minor in Women’s Studies. She has served SWS as co-chair of the Parent Council and on the Festival Committee. Michelle attended policy governance training with Miriam Carver and completed two terms as President of the Board during its transition to Policy Governance. Michelle and her family moved to Seattle in 2002 from the SF Bay Area where her daughter, Raizel, attended Marin Waldorf School. Raizel is currently in the seventh grade at SWS.

Lee Hiner: Vice President

Joined the Board in 2007,
tenure with high school Board 1.5 years

Lee Hiner is a graduate of Green Meadow Waldorf School in New York State, and brings a clear picture of what a K-12 Waldorf school can become. After high school Lee studied finance and science, ultimately receiving a bachelors degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. He currently works for Controls Corporation of America, Inc. as a district manager covering the Northwest and Canada. His son Trevor is in third grade and his daughter Melissa is in Kindergarten, both at SWS.

Tim Bennett: Vice President

Joined the Board in 2002, second term ends in 2009

Tim was born in London, England, and emigrated to the U.S. at age eleven. He majored in Fine Arts at the University of Washington and continued his studies of painting and sculpture at the Sun Valley Center for Arts and Humanities. He joined the faculty in 1985, after several years as After School Care Director and Kindergarten Assistant. He currently teaches in the Rosemary Kindergarten. He has a son, Ezra, in the eighth grade, and a daughter, Una, in the fifth grade.

Kalika Robinson: Secretary

Joined SWS Board in 2007,
tenure with high school Board 5 years

Kalika grew up in England where she studied violin at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She moved to the U.S. in 1983. She has completed the foundation year for Waldorf teacher training at Sound Circle and is a graduate of Port Townsend School of Massage. She is a student at Alexander Technique Center Seattle in their teacher training program. Her three oldest children attended SWS and graduated from the High School. She has three sons at SWS, Chetanya, eighth grade, Kailash, seventh grade and Ravi, fourth grade, and a fourth, Kabir, at Olympic View Elementary School.

Alexander Rist

Joined SWS Board in 2005, term ends in 2008

Alexander was born in Germany in 1959 and attended a kindergarten and Waldorf school in Zurich, Switzerland through the twelfth grade. He is an expert in economics and sociology, receiving his Masters in Economics at the University of Basel. Alexander has served as a researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, an Environmental Officer at Coop, Switzerland, and Secretariat General of the Department of Environment, Transportation, Energy and Communication. He also served in Paris on the European Conference of Transport Ministers with the Federal Office of Environment. He moved to Seattle in 2001, where he shared his professional expertise with the King County, Solid Waste Division. He brings his experience in Policy Governance to SWS from his work on the Board of Trustees at Puget Consumers Coop (PCC). He is the former president of the Seattle Economics Council, local NABE chapter. Alexander is a member of the Anthroposophic Society of America and the Section for the Social Sciences. He enjoys exploring the arts and music, playing violin and viola, and focuses his curiosity and caring on issues of cultural diversity in a globalized world.

Anne Holmes

Joined the Board in 2007, term ends in 2010

Anne is a native Seattlelite and environmental engineer who's special interest is the management and secondary use of closed landfills and contaminated properties. Before serving on the SWS Board, she served on the Long Range Development Committee that managed the construction of the lower grades wing, the Site Committee and two terms as a Parent Rep. Her son, Max, graduated from SWS in 2003 with Mr. Perry's first class and her daughter, Victoria, graduated in 2006 with Mrs. Golden's class.

John O’Connor

Joined SWS Board in 2004, second term ends in 2010

John is a book publisher (Eastland Press) and attorney, with a Master’s Degree in Asian Studies from the University of Illinois, and a law degree from Loyola School of Law (Chicago). Prior to joining the SWS Board in 2004, he chaired the school’s TLA Committee for several years. John and his wife, Patricia, have a daughter, Clare, who attended SWS from Kinderhaus through eighth grade, graduating in 2005 with Wim Gottenbos’ first class. She is now a junior at the Seattle Waldorf High School.

Thomas Kayser

Joined SWS Board in 2007,
tenure with high school Board 1 year

Tom is an architect, and graduated from the University of Washington. He was on the High School Board where his daughter, Lydia, attended school for two years, graduating in 2004. These were pivotal years for Lydia and her experience was the best any parent could desire – she grew into a confident and hopeful young woman during her two years at the High School. He sees a natural link between Steiner's child development ideas and our evolving consciousness about our impact on the planet.

© 2007 Seattle Waldorf School. All rights reserved.