High School Faculty

Andrea Baker – Eurythmy

Born and raised in the Sacramento area, Andrea began her Waldorf training in Southern California at Rudolf Steiner College in 2005, first working in Early Childhood before discovering the art of Eurythmy.  Inspired by the art form, Andrea took up her Eurythmy training in earnest when her family moved to New York, studying for three years at Eurythmy Spring Valley.  Upon returning to Southern California in 2011, Andrea further honed her teaching skills as a Eurythmy instructor at the Waldorf School of Orange County.

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.

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.

Michael D’Aleo—Science Consultant and 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 cumlaude. 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.

Mark Dinan—Math, Science, and Technical Arts

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.

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.”

Paul Gierlach—History Teacher and History Mentor

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.

Ko Chen Hawkes—Painting

Ko Chen Hawkes has been an art teacher and artistic therapist for many years, both in Canada and in Southern California.  She is a faculty member of the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy, British Columbia where she teaches painting to the students in the Early Childhood Program and the Grade School program during the summer.  She conducts monthly and weekly painting classes in Southern California at the Rudolf Steiner Community Center, the Christian Community Church, and at home in Altadena. She teaches art, painting, and drawing, as well as therapeutic art. She frequently travels to facilitate workshops for professional development, conferences and individual therapies with children and adults.  She has taught with the Waldorf Institute of Southern California and is leading a painting workshop for members and friends of the Christian Community Church in Lima, Peru. She holds a diploma from the Hibernia School of Artistic Therapy in Stroud, England and a B.A. from California State University, Los Angeles.

Anna Leichter - Humanities

Anna has been part of the Waldorf community for the past 12 years, as both a parent and an educator.  She received her undergraduateBachelor of Arts degree from University of California Los Angeles in 2003, and completed her Master of Arts degree in English from California State University Northridge in 2010.  Anna joins our high school faculty with over 9 years of experience tutoring and teaching—both privately and as an English instructor at Highland Hall—and comes highly recommended by her peers and mentors.

Ted Masur – Music

Ted Masur was an undergraduate at Yale University, where he fell in love with the community experience of choral music.  Inspired by the desire to create that sense of community for others, he worked as a choral director at Abington Friends School for three years.  The desire to deepen his skills as a musician led him to a master’s degree at Indiana University, Bloomington.  There he studied choral conducting and music composition, while teaching music theory to undergraduates.  In 2000, he moved to San Francisco to work as choral director at the Urban School of San Francisco, and five years later, after winning an ASCAP award, he left San Francisco to pursue opportunities as a composer for film and television music in Los Angeles.  With colleagues at Idyllwild Arts Academy, he helped to create a highly collaborative program in film scoring, and he is currently working as program coordinator and composer‐in-residence at the VYMA Music Project in Pasadena.

Josh Peters – Fine Arts – Black and White Drawing/ Clay Modeling
Originally from the East Coast, Josh Peters received his BFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his MFA from the Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University.   Mr. Peters has taught and exhibited his work on both coasts as well as abroad, including a visiting professorship at the Strykejernet Kunstskole in Oslo, Norway and having a solo show of his paintings at Schuebbe Projects in Dusseldorf, Germany. Since moving out to the Los Angeles area in 2009, Mr. Peters has taught at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, and Otis College of Art and Design, amongst others.  His most recent solo exhibition was the Kaycee Olsen Gallery in Culver City in January, 2011 and since that time he has been included in many group shows at venues on both coasts including Mixed Greens, NYC; Sara Nightingale Gallery, Water Mill, NY; the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts; and Summercamp Projects in Los Angeles.

Michael Powers – Photography

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.

Evan Rosenblatt, M.S. – Physical Education

Evan Rosenblatt comes to us with a wide range of relevant experience, working as a professional dancer and choreographer, dance instructor, teacher, practicing kinesiologist, and athlete.   He received his B.S. and M.S. in Kinesiology from Cal State University, Northridge, where he also taught collegiate tennis, basketball, and baseball.   Evan has designed a P.E. curriculum for ninth grade that emphasizes social interaction, teamwork, cardiovascular endurance, strength, and agility – taking an inside out approach to build well rounded and balanced individuals who understand how to move efficiently.

Sandra Ruggiero – Biology

Sandra has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Northwestern University and a master’s in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. She has completed 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.

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–12^th 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.

Rob Stewart – History through Art and Block Printing

Rob Stewart, an accomplished Anthroposophical homeopath, has spent years honing his Waldorf teaching skills through continued education.  He studied Art, Design, and Painting at Rochester Institute of Technology as well as SUNY Rochester, before focusing on a degree in Medical Anthropology from Empire State College.  After many years studying and practicing homeopathic medicine—earning degrees from the National Center for Homeopathy and North American Society of Homeopaths—he turned his energies toward teaching, studying at the International Montessori Association and earning his High School Teacher Training and Waldorf certification at the Center for Anthroposophy.   Since then he has taught in Waldorf schools around the globe, from Moscow to Guanajuato to Garden City, focusing on History through Art, Geography, and Geometry.

Beth Weisburn —Math—Geology  Teacher and Combinations and Permutations Mentor

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.

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 12^th 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.