Rebekah Dotzel (she/her/hers) is a cellist and educator based in Chicago. Rebekah’s teaching takes many forms, including a studio of Suzuki and traditional private lessons fo...Read More

Nelson Mendoza (he/him/his) is originally from Venezuela and is a violinist with Master’s and Post-Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from DePaul University and a Bachelorâ...Read More

Philip Mundine (he/him/his) comes to us from Catapult Learning, a service that assigns skilled tutors to schools for long-term academic intervention with students. Previously, Phil...Read More

Dani Ruiz (she/her/hers) is the Operations Coordinator. 

Jessica Goc (she/her/hers) is the Operations Manager. Jessica has been working with Urban Prairie as a substitute teacher, a lead on special projects, a volunteer closet cleaner ex...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

Anne McDonough (she/her/hers).

Kristin Akre (she/her/hers).

Cristina Filicky (she/her/hers).

Everardo Sanchez (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 passi...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

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

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 responsible for the overall operational management and vision of Urban Prairie. She oversees the school’s financial health, shepherds its governance...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 lead teacher in the Butterfly Garden early childhood classroom. She served as a class teacher for the class of 2024 from 3rd through 6th grade. Sh...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