Jessica Goc (she/her/hers) is the Pedagogical Operations Coordinator. Jessica has been working with Urban Prairie as a substitute teacher, a lead on special projects, volunteer clo...Read More

Caitlin Flannery (she/her/hers) is the lead teacher in the Hummingbird Garden and the Director of the Early Childhood program.

Mathew Riendeau (he/him/his) was the class teacher for the class of 2020. He trained as a teacher at the Arcturus Rudolf Steiner Education Program in Chicago. Before coming to Urba...Read More

Sarah Lavin (she/her/hers).

Anne McDonough (she/her/hers).

Kristin Akre (she/her/hers).

Myra Kalaw (she/her/hers).

Sarah Steedman (she/her/hers).

Lucas Ortiz-Young (he/his/him).

Cristina Filicky (she/her/hers).

Everardo (he/him/his) was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He first started on flute at the age of 11 then at the age of 15, he switched to cello. Everardo is now a passionate te...Read More

Katie Cousins (she/her/hers) is a versatile performer and educator with enthusiasm for a vast range of musical styles. Currently based in Chicago, she actively performs with multip...Read More

AJ Lee (he/him/his) arrives at UPWS with 11 years of experience in independent schools. Most recently, he co-founded The Stone Independent School as a progressive, independent seco...Read More

Jennifer Kang (she/her/hers) is an educational leader who has led and taught for 15 years in American public schools and in international schools in Morocco, Lebanon, and Myanmar. ...Read More

Ayesha Wahidi (she/her/hers) Is the class teacher for the combined class of 2026/25. She is a compassionate educator from St. Louis, Missouri, a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium S...Read More

Jenn Zielinski (she/her/hers) is a CAED (Certified Admissions & Enrollment Professional) and a S.E.E.D. (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity) facilitator who comes to us...Read More

Indra Lively-Hatcher (she/her/hers) attended the Olympia Waldorf School grades five to eight and worked at OWS for five years. Then she worked as an assistant teacher in the Huckle...Read More

Dan Galat (he/him/his) started playing violin when he was 7 years old. Seven years later, he began teaching violin. Twelve years and many thousands of hours of practice after that ...Read More

Kelly Quesada (she/her/hers) is a cellist and educator based in Chicago. Active as both an orchestral and chamber musician, she has been playing in professional ensembles for over ...Read More

Sherry Diaz (she/her/hers).

Heather La Riviere (she/her/hers) is a native of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and grew up in an Army family. She earned a BA/MA from the University of Chicago with general and special...Read More

Sharla Paul (she/her/hers) is Urban Prairie's Head of School, a new leadership position created in Spring of 2019 and approved by the Board in June of 2019 as part of the 2019-20 g...Read More

Rob Welcher (he/him/his) began his Waldorf teaching career in 2011 during Urban Prairie's nascent years in the storefront at 16th and Halsted. He taught math and science (7th-12th ...Read More

Megan Rotko (she/her/hers) is the class teacher for the class of 2024. She began teaching English as a Second Language while living in Chiapas, Mexico between 1995-1999. She then r...Read More

Erica Moriarty (she/her/hers) is the lead Toddler Playgroup and Prairie Roots teacher. She strives to offer families an introduction to Waldorf education in a warm, creative space ...Read More

Adriana Kondrat (she/her/hers) is a Chicago Waldorf School(CWS) graduate and studied at the Arcturus Rudolf Steiner Education Program in Chicago. She was the Assistant Director and...Read More

Angela Kiefer (pronouns are she/her/hers) was our first class teacher, completing her first eight-year teaching cycle in 2017. This year, she is contributing significantly to our s...Read More

Sophie Baumgartner (she/her/hers) attended the Chicago Waldorf School from kindergarten through 12th grade, graduating in 2005. She earned a BA in Political Science and Environment...Read More

Xuefen (Glenda) Ding (she/her/hers) is a native of Lanzhou, in northwest China. Glenda was a college professor for ten years and taught foreign languages at a global education orga...Read More

Candace Choma (she/her/hers) received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Washington University in St. Louis. Upon graduating, Candace became the founding early ch...Read More

Megan Cather (she/her/hers) is the class teacher for the class of 2022. Megan received her BA in Spanish and Writing/Communications from Maryville College and her MS in Elementary ...Read More

Liz Avila (she/her/hers) is currently the teacher for the class of 2028. Liz joined the teaching team at Urban Prairie Waldorf School after working in the Chicago Public Schools, b...Read More

Hannah Avellone (she/her/hers) is the class teacher for the class of 2023. She received her BA from Bard College and her Waldorf teacher certificate from the Arcturus Rudolf Steine...Read More