Early Childhood Faculty

Lisa Wolfe: Parent & Tot Teacher

Lisa was raised in the San Francisco Bay area. Growing up, she had an affinity for adventure in the natural world and subsequently earned a B.A. in Outdoor Education from Dominican College. She then earned a degree in elementary education and taught in public school. Seeking deeper understanding of education and child development, Lisa trained and taught in Montessori Education, then pursued training in Waldorf education, teaching elementary grades from 1999 to 2004. Lisa is currently enjoying parenting her son, being a regular substitute at Seattle Waldorf School, and leading the Parent & Tot program.

Holly Koteen-Soulé: Parent & Tot Teacher

Holly has been a Waldorf early childhood teacher for over 20 years. She taught kindergarten at Seattle Waldorf School and was the founding teacher of the Bright Water School. She is a core faculty member of Sound Circle Center, and teacher training has been the main focus of her work in the last few years. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Antioch University in Seattle and studied Waldorf education at Emerson College in England. Holly started the first Waldorf parent and child class in Seattle in 1999.

Martha Swain: Marigold & Lupine Preschool Teacher

Martha was born in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio but spent her summers in a rustic cabin on the coast of Maine, where she and her large family learned to live by the rhythms of the tides and the rise and fall of the sun. She majored in English at Swarthmore College and pursued a career managing volunteers in the health care field, first in Washington D.C. and then at AIDS service organizations in Seattle. She was introduced to Waldorf education through her sister-in-law, a handwork teacher at Washington Waldorf School. Martha earned her Masters of Education and Waldorf teaching certificate from Antioch University New England and has served as a kindergarten assistant and preschool teacher at Seattle Waldorf School. Her daughter Maddy is a student at our school.

Gina Burger: Daffodil Preschool Teacher

Gina grew up in Long Island, New York close to the beach and big city. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts while in High School, and spent countless hours perusing art in museums! Raised by her Colombian and Italian family, she was surrounded by a rich diversity of cultures. She attended New York University for two years, and traveled around the world on Semester at Sea. She has a B.A. in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado at Boulder; a Certificate in Wetlands Studies from the UW, and completed her Waldorf teacher training at Sound Circle. She has taught at a Waldorf preschool, and done environmental education and salmon restoration for the King County Conservation District. Her husband runs an environmental non-profit and her two children attend SWS. She enjoys spending time with her family, teaching, gardening, traveling, baking, hiking, reading and so much more!

Melissa Borden: Briar Rose Kindergarten Teacher

Melissa spent her early years in Washington State. After graduating from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Drama, she traveled to Europe where she spent several years. While there, she attended the Eurythmy School in Dornach, Switzerland. She returned to USA to enter graduate school at UW and received an M.A. in Textiles in 1982. In 1987 she began her teaching career at SWS after having received a K-8 Teaching Certificate from the UW Department of Education. She has continued as a Kindergarten teacher and returned to SWS in 2006 after a sabbatical year in Britain.

Barbara Bachmann: Briar Rose Kindergarten Assistant

Barbara was born in the French part of Switzerland to Swiss German speaking parents in a little town overlooking the Lake of Neuchatel. She and her two sisters spent their childhood hiking in the Alps with her father and walking to school, up and down the hill four times a day. From her mother she got her love for handwork and learned all about raising children with a big heart, gentle hands and a wise soul, and keeping the kitchen filled with the smell of freshly baked bread. Barbara graduated from the University of Fribourg with a degree in Special Education, where her training included working with behaviorally challenged children in a group home setting, and teaching at the kindergarten level in a school for children with mental disabilities. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Berkeley, CA with her computer scientist husband Manuel. Her girls Marika and Bettina were born there, followed by a son, Xavier after they moved to Washington in 1998. Their three children attend SWS. Barbara has made it a priority to be home with her children, weaving work into home life by caring for other children and working as the Briar Rose nap caregiver. She is delighted to be a part of Kindergarten life again, and looking forward to exploring the school neighborhood with the children on their daily walks.

Mary Lentz: Lavender Kindergarten Teacher

Mary was born in a small town in Minnesota, the sixth of eight children. After two years of college, she spent the next two in Venice, Italy, where she attended The Academia di Belle Arti. Back stateside, Mary worked in special education, and then studied graphic arts in northern Michigan. From there, fate led her to Detroit, to her future husband Kelly Murphy and to the Waldorf Institute. After co-teaching kindergarten with Kelly for four years, three at Seattle Waldorf School, Mary took a break to be a full-time mother to their two children. She resumed her teaching career at the White Dove Preschool in 1995, where she spent the next few years. In 1999 Mary happily returned to Seattle Waldorf School to teach in the Lavender Kindergarten with Kelly.

Kelly Murphy: Lavender Kindergarten Teacher

Kelly was born in South Bend, Indiana and grew up there and in Michigan, where he earned his Bachelor of Philosophy from Thomas Jefferson College. After a stint in California, supporting himself as a clay sculptor, he returned to Michigan to attend the Waldorf Institute of Mercy College where he earned his degree in Waldorf education and met his wife Mary Lentz. They co-taught kindergarten in Albuquerque, then settled in Seattle in 1985 where they taught at SWS for three years before leaving to raise a family. Kelly started the White Dove preschool in their home which he ran for nine years before returning to SWS in 1999 to teach in the Lavender Kindergarten. In his spare time Kelly makes guitars, writes songs and has performed around Seattle.

Tim Bennett: Rosemary Kindergarten Teacher

Tim was born in London, England, and emigrated to the U.S. with his parents when he was eleven years old. As a teenager he spent as much time as possible on the ski slopes. 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, where he could pursue his other passions as well. In Idaho he also met his wife-to-be, Betsy Weill, whose work as a Waldorf teacher at SWS eventually drew him into teaching. He joined the faculty in 1985, after several years as After School Care Director and Kindergarten Assistant. He still paints when he has a chance, although most of his extra time is spent being a father to his son and daughter.

Debora Petschek: Rosemary Kindergarten Assistant

Debora Petschek was born in Argentina and moved to the US with her family after high school. She earned a degree in Wildlife Biology from Washington State University and a certificate in Medical Technology from Children's Hospital in Seattle. She has held many different jobs over the years, including: interpreter and health advocate, research assistant, veterinary assistant, microbiologist, administrative assistant, program assistant, and now, kindergarten assistant. She enjoys traveling and has visited every continent except Antarctica, an omission she hopes to rectify in the future. She has three children, two in college and one in high school, all of them graduates of Seattle Waldorf grade school.