Meet Our High School Faculty
We are delighted to present many of the teachers who will join us in the high school! Below you will find their names, subjects they will teach and short biographies. We are thrilled with the caliber of teachers, both personally and professionally, who will make up our high school faculty!
Corby Gallegos—Humanities
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Corby Gallegos trained in visual art and theatre for three years at California Institute of the Arts before completing his B.A. at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He received his Waldorf teacher certification from the Waldorf Institute of Southern California in Northridge. Prior to his teaching drama and literature and serving as Chair of the Drama Department at Highland Hall Waldorf School, Mr. Gallegos served as Co-Director of the Theatre Festival in Asheville, North Carolina; taught acting and English at the Sho Kosugi Institute in Tokyo, Japan; and taught acting and art in municipal programs in Southern California. Mr. Gallegos also performs with various theatrical groups and is the singer and founding member of Los Angeles’ premier Johnny Cash Tribute Band, “With a Bible & a Gun.”
Paolo Carini—Physics
Born in Rome, Italy, Paolo Carini studied physics at the University of Rome where he received his B.A. in 1988. Two years later he came to the United States with his family to conduct research at Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D. in physics. During that time he became familiar with Waldorf education. He continued his research at Amherst College under the supervision of Professor Arthur Zajonc, who served as General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America at the time. In 1997, Dr. Carini returned to California with his family to help pioneer the San Francisco Waldorf High School, where he continues to teach physics and mathematics. He earned his Waldorf teacher certification at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training in 2002, and has served as a faculty member in that program for the past eight years.
Mark Dinan—Math and Science
Mark Dinan comes to the Pasadena Waldorf High School with several years teaching experience, and over twenty years experience designing and programming interactive, hands-on educational and scientific software. A graduate of the California Institute of Technology, Mr. Dinan pursued graduate studies in Physics at UC Berkeley. He taught undergraduate Physics at UC Berkeley, as well as High School Astronomy and Calculus at Caltech. After graduating from Caltech, Mr. Dinan continued to work on their SEED/CAPSI project, designing and implementing software to supplement the hands-on science kits used in the Pasadena Unified School District. This work led him to develop, design, and program Whyville, an online virtual world devoted to teaching math, science, and other subjects via multiplayer simulations and communal experiences. As of 2011, it has over 7 million users worldwide who have logged 16 million hours of time learning and interacting in the virtual world.
Beth Weisburn—Math–Combinations and Permutations
Beth Weisburn has B.S., M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. She has completed a Waldorf teacher training with the Center for Educational Renewal. Ms. Weisburn has professional engineering experience in the areas of digital communications, medical image processing and sound analysis. For the past twelve years, she has been teaching math and science in grades 7–12 at Summerfield Waldorf School. She was a core member of the group tasked to re-form the high school in 2000, while serving on the school’s Board of Directors. This work led to a new form of school governance, and a new College of Teachers, of which she was a founding member. For the past six years, Ms. Weisburn has organized regional workshops where high school colleagues gather to deepen their teaching.
Paul Gierlach—History
Paul Gierlach has an undergraduate and graduate degree from St. Vincent’s College and York University, respectively, and completed his Waldorf teacher training at the Waldorf Institute of Mercy College in Detroit. He has taught in Waldorf elementary and high schools for over 25 years and in teacher training programs throughout the U.S. He was the founding and lead teacher of the Honolulu Waldorf High School for six years. For the last ten years – since receiving his remedial training – he has worked in the classroom and as a remedial tutor with students from grades 4 through 12.
Victoria Grier Harding–Spanish
Grier Harding’s study of language has taken her around the world, attending university at Reed College in Portland, Oregon; Université d’Aix-Marseille; Universidad de Barcelona; and University of California, Berkeley. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Occidental College in 1987, and her M.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1990. In 2011, she received her M.A. in Spanish Literature and Linguistics from California State University Los Angeles. Ms. Harding has gathered significant teaching experience from working as an ESL Instructor at the Polylanguages Institute in Pasadena, as well as working as an Instructor of Spanish at Cal State Los Angeles. She is a member of American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
Shiye Yang–Mandarin
Shiye Yang completed her Bachelor of Arts Dual Degree of Chinese Language and Literature and English in 2009, graduating from Beijing Normal University in Beijing, PRC. During her time at university, she worked at Guangdong Country Garden International School as an 11th and 12th grade Chinese instructor. Ms. Yang continued to deepen her educational experience during her time as a Class Counselor and 10th Grade Chinese teacher at the Shanghai Xinzhuang Public High School in Shanghai. Her work has recently brought her to the United States where she tutors undergraduate students in Chinese at Loyola Marymount University while currently working on her M.A. in Bilingual Education there.
Joana Sguario—Fine Arts
Joana Sguario was born and raised in Brazil, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Fundacao Armando Alvares Penteado, as well as her Waldorf Teaching training from Rudolf Steiner School in Sao Paulo. For much of the next fifteen years, Ms. Sguario was involved with Waldorf art education, completing her teacher training and helping to establish Waldorf schools in several cities across Brazil. She then traveled to California–where she attended Rudolf Steiner College–and to Emerson College, England, further studying fine arts and sculpture. After her certification and study in England, Ms. Sguario taught High School Art and Sculpture at the Austin Waldorf School for three years. Since her return to California, she finished the Interior Design masters-level program at UCLA, and she has executed numerous interior design projects, worked at the Getty Villa, and taught at both the Waldorf Institute of Southern California and our very own Pasadena Waldorf School.
Molly Cleator—Fine and Applied Arts
Molly Cleator’s study and practice of the arts has led her all across the globe, from Cameroon to Canada to California. She has created and performed in over 35 multi-media pieces in the last 30 years, all while continuing to grow and learn as an artist and educator. She has apprenticed with artists all over the world. Ms. Cleator received her B.F.A. from Otis Art Institute, and her M.F.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1998 she was certified as a Waldorf Teacher by the Waldorf Institute of Southern California. Ms. Cleator has served the Pasadena Waldorf community as the 4th-8th grade class teacher of 2006, as well as teaching African Geography, Painting and Drawing blocks for the Class of 2009.
Sandra Ruggiero, M.A. – Biology
Sandra has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Northwestern University and a masters in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. She has done both the Waldorf class teacher training at Antioch New England and the high school training with Betty Staley at Rudolf Steiner College. Her teaching has spanned the grades from kindergarten to high school. After teaching handwork in the Waldorf elementary school, she became involved in the founding of the Waldorf High School of Massachusetts Bay and taught life science, earth science, and practical arts there from 1997-2012. She is also active in conservation and natural history in her hometown of Lexington, MA.
Michael Powers –Photography and Filmmaking
Michael Powers is a working photographer and artist from Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Art Center College of Design, Michael began teaching photography and hosting art workshops and exhibitions in his studio in Pasadena. Michael works commercially as a photographer and film maker. His clients include Buena Vista Films, Ogilvy & Mather, Motorola, IBM, Gap Inc., Lucky Brand Jeans, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Peace Over Violence, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, WWD and Baseline Magazine. He recently served as a juror for the Art Directors Guild Annual in New York. Michael has taught or guest lectured at Art Center, UCLA, Southern California Latino Writers and Filmmakers workshop, California Arts Council, and LaSalle High School.
Betty Staley—High School Consultant and English Mentor
Betty Staley, advisor to Pasadena Waldorf High School development, has been a Waldorf teacher for fifty years. Having been a class teacher, she then founded the Sacramento Waldorf High School where she taught history and literature and sponsored four classes (from 9th-12th grade), until she left to begin the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program at Rudolf Steiner College in 1992. She has helped to found high schools at the San Francisco Waldorf School, the Waldorf High School of Massachusetts Bay, the San Diego Waldorf School, and the Waldorf School of the Peninsula. She continues as an advisor to a number of Waldorf high schools. Betty Staley is a world-wide lecturer and workshop presenter and the author of seven books on adolescent and adult development as well as on curriculum. She is currently designing the high school training for Chengdu Waldorf School in China.
Michael D’Aleo—Science Mentor
Michael D’Aleo is a founding member of the Saratoga Experiential Natural Science Research Institute (SENSRI) in Saratoga Springs, New York, and is their Director of Research. Mr. D’Aleo has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rutgers University where he graduated summa cum laude. He also holds a Masters degree in education from Sunbridge College. He was cofounder of the high school at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs where he teaches physical science and mathematics. Mr. D’Aleo is also an instructor of Waldorf School physical science teachers at The Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, New Hampshire, as well as a guest teacher at various teacher training institutions. He is cofounder and leader of the successful 6th, 7th and 8th grade science teacher training, Teaching Sensible Science.
