• (312) 733-5337
  • Email Us
Urban Prairie Waldorf School - Chicago
  • About
    • Mission & History
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Environmental Sustainability
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Board of Trustees
    • Employment
  • Admissions
    • Visit Our School
    • Admissions FAQ
    • Tuition & Affordability
    • Apply
  • Curriculum
    • Play Groups for Toddlers
    • Early Childhood
    • Grade School 1-5
    • Middle School 6-8
    • Student Support
    • High School Readiness
  • Life at UPWS
    • COVID-19 Information
    • Festivals & Events
    • Family Engagement
    • Community Kitchen & Farmer’s Market
    • After School Programming
    • School Lunch Program
    • Summer & Break Camps
    • Parent/Guardian Page
  • Donate
Select Page
  • All
  • Board
  • Faculty
  • Administration
Ashley Bloczynski

Ashley Bloczynski

Ashley Bloczynski (pronouns are she/her/hers) is the class teacher for the class of 2028.

Valerie Fairchild

Valerie Fairchild

Board Member

Valerie Fairchild (pronouns are she/her/hers)

Amanda Noah

Amanda Noah

Early Childhood Assistant

Amanda Noah (pronouns are she/her/hers)

Kim George

Kim George

Operations Coordinator

Kim George (pronouns are she/her/hers)

Mike Grill

Mike Grill

Board Secretary

Mike Grill (pronouns are he/him/his) has served as the Secretary of the Board of Trustees since 2018. He joined the Urban Prairie community in 2015 when his oldest child began firs...Read More

Rachel Manigault

Rachel Manigault

Board Member

Rachel Manigault (pronouns are she/her/hers) joined the Board of Trustees at Urban Prairie Waldorf School in the Summer of 2020, where her husband of 9+ years, Dan Galat, co-direct...Read More

Ravi Parakkat

Ravi Parakkat

Board Member

Ravi Parakkat (pronouns are he/him/his) with his degrees in engineering and business, has built a career in consulting, solving complex business problems. Ravi has managed multimil...Read More

Caitlin Flannery

Caitlin Flannery

Director of Early Childhood

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

Jennifer Zielinski

Jennifer Zielinski

Director of Enrollment Management

Jenn Zielinski (pronouns are she/her/hers) comes to us with over 10 years of experience working in Enrollment Management at the Chicago Waldorf School. She and her husband currentl...Read More

Indra Lively-Hatcher

Indra Lively-Hatcher

Early Childhood Assistant

Indra Lively-Hatcher (pronouns are she/her/hers) attended the Olympia Waldorf School grades five to eight and worked at OWS for the past five years; the last three as an assistant ...Read More

Missy Byrne

Missy Byrne

Teaching and Office Assistant

Melissa (Missy) Byrne (pronouns are she/her/hers) has been a teacher in the Waldorf discipline for sixteen years, and she earned her teaching certificate from Arcturus Rudolf Stein...Read More

Kelly Quesada

Kelly Quesada

Cello Teacher

Kelly Quesada (pronouns are 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 ensemb...Read More

Sherry Diaz

Sherry Diaz

Woodworking Teacher

Sherry Diaz (pronouns are she/her/hers).

Heather La Riviere

Heather La Riviere

Handwork Teacher

Heather La Riviere (pronouns are 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 genera...Read More

Sharla Paul

Sharla Paul

Head of School

Sharla Paul (pronouns are 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 ...Read More

Nisreen Al-Qamari

Nisreen Al-Qamari

Board Finance Co-Chair

Nisreen Al-Qamari (pronouns are she/her/hers) joined the Board in the Fall of 2018 and has been a member of the City Garden-Urban Prairie community since 2014. Her background is in...Read More

Danila Miranda

Danila Miranda

Board Vice President

Danila Miranda (pronouns she/ella) is the project coordinator and bookkeeper for Gonzalez Liquors, which has long donated to our fundraising events. For over a decade, she was a pr...Read More

Aimee Krall-Lanoue

Aimee Krall-Lanoue

Board Member

Aimee Krall-Lanoue (pronouns are she/her/hers) has served on the Board of Trustees since 2018, most recently leading Urban Prairie's governance task force. She has been a parent in...Read More

Dan Galat

Dan Galat

Orchestra Program Director

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

Robert Welcher

Robert Welcher

Class Teacher

Rob Welcher (pronouns are he/him/his) is the class teacher for the class of 2027.

Catherine Francis

Catherine Francis

Board Member

Catherine Francis (pronouns are she/her/hers) joined the Board in June 2017 and has been a member of the Urban Prairie Waldorf School Facilities Committee and the American Waldorf ...Read More

Shannon Callahan

Shannon Callahan

Board President

Shannon Callahan (pronouns are she/her/hers) is a senior non-profit executive with international experience in strategic and financial planning, fundraising, communications, board ...Read More

Megan Rotko

Megan Rotko

Class Teacher

Megan Rotko (pronouns are 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 1995-199...Read More

Mat Riendeau

Mat Riendeau

Class Teacher

Mathew Riendeau (pronouns are 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 c...Read More

Amanda Smagley

Amanda Smagley

Class Teacher

Amanda Smagley (pronouns are she/her/hers) is the class teacher for the class of 2025 & 2026. She grew up in New Albany, Ohio, where she first discovered her love of working ...Read More

Andi Pearl

Andi Pearl

Class Teacher

Andi Pearl (pronouns are she/her/hers) is the class teacher for the class of 2021. Andi is an experienced Waldorf teacher with an extensive background in science and math, as well ...Read More

Gyasi Kress

Gyasi Kress

Special Subjects Teacher

Gyasi Kress (pronouns are he/him/his) began his professional acting and musical career at the age of 16 while attending Curie Metro High School in Chicago. Highly influenced by his...Read More

Erica Moriarty

Erica Moriarty

Toddler Play Group & Early Childhood Teacher

Erica Moriarty (pronouns are 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, cr...Read More

Adriana Kondrat

Adriana Kondrat

Movement & Games Teacher, Student Support Coordinator

Adriana Kondrat (pronouns are 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...Read More

Angela Kiefer

Angela Kiefer

Co-Director of Curriculum and Instruction

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

Sophie Baumgartner

Pedagogical Administrative Assistant

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

Glenda Ding

Glenda Ding

Chinese Teacher

Xuefen (Glenda) Ding (pronouns are 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 e...Read More

Candace  Choma

Candace Choma

Educational Support Coordinator

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

Megan Cather

Megan Cather

Class Teacher

Megan Cather (pronouns are 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 i...Read More

Elizabeth Avilla

Elizabeth Avilla

Mentor Teacher

Liz Avila (pronouns are she/her) is currently a mentor teacher, after being the teacher for the class of 2026. Liz joined the teaching team at Urban Prairie Waldorf School after wo...Read More

Hannah Avellone

Hannah Avellone

Class Teacher

Hannah Avellone (pronouns are 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 ...Read More

Peggy Lofgren

Peggy Lofgren

Director of Operations & Finance

Peggy Lofgren (pronouns are she/her/hers) served as our School Administrator, Chair of the Urban Prairie Board Finance Committee, and Treasurer, prior to being hired as Director of...Read More

School Calendar
Admissions
Curriculum
Life at UPWS
Donate


1310 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60608



(312) 733-5337



info@urbanprairie.org

  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
Urban Prairie © 2020. All Rights Reserved.