SWS Faculty

Elizabeth Curtis
Class Teacher, Graduating Class of 2010

Elizabeth Curtis has honed her keen skills of discernment through years of immersion in art, mathematics, craft, and community.  She holds a B.F.A. from Millersville University and has completed graduate-level coursework in textiles, weaving, and papermaking, as well as the Waldorf Teacher Training Program at Sunbridge College.  After following an early calling toward entrepreneurship as owner of a frame shop, a handwork shop, and an at-home sewing business, Elizabeth was recruited to the SWS Early Childhood faculty in 2000 by founding teacher Linda Heywood.  Elizabeth now leads her class into their eighth year of the Grades; together they have built bridges, gained perspective, and found beauty in the world and in each other.  As proud parents of daughter Lillie, who graduated from SWS in 2009, Elizabeth and her ever-supportive husband Lance are as present on the bleachers of the basketball court and poolside as they are in their other own varied elements.  When not practicing the next incarnation of her penmanship, puttering in her garden, or knitting very warm socks, Elizabeth can be found inspiring her colleagues to search for truth, good humor, and her coveted stash of chocolate.

Melissa McIntyre
Class Teacher, Class of 2011

It was during her adventures abroad that Melissa first heard about Waldorf Education. Having Art History and Elementary Education degrees from Rollins College tucked into her backpack, Melissa and her husband, Jim, set off to teach and travel in Europe. Only after she returned to their hometown of Orlando, finished her Masters degree, and became the mother of three boys–Max, Thomas, and Colin–, did the topic of Waldorf re-emerge. Their oldest son was ready for school, so the McIntyre family headed north to Pennsylvania for their next great adventure. It was upon entering the doors of the Susquehanna Waldorf School that these two parents/teachers fell in love with education as an art and immersed themselves in all things Waldorf. When the youngest son entered SWS, Melissa seized the moment and became the Morning Glory kindergarten teacher. Four years passed and, feeling adventurous again, she said yes to becoming the new class teacher for the class of 2011, which is now in its seventh-grade year.

Jim Fitzpatrick
Class Teacher, Class of 2012

According to his mom, a young Jim Fitzpatrick would return to his pens and papers only days after Christmas.  Real toys were often a let-down compared to the fun of creating for himself.

The enchanted mountains of Central Pennsylvania, and, in particular, the tall spruce trees of the street he grew up on, imparted an appreciation for seeing some magic in nature.  All these things fed his imagination.

So when a co-worker shared with him about the Waldorf school her kids attended, he knew he had found his bliss.  His interest in drawing and writing and religion and even the Greek myths has found a home.

Kris Miller
Class Teacher, Class of 2013

Waldorf education has awakened long-sleeping joys for Kris.  A long-time student and instructor of literature and the humanities, she had never really gotten the chance to live in a world of numbers, or to learn to use soft pastels, or to slurp history through the straws of mythology and biography…until now.  SWS’s class teacher for the Class of 2013 is currently Greek-wrestling with the fifth-grade curriculum, with the help of her trusty and brave students.  Having recently completed her M.S.Ed. from Sunbridge College, she remembers daily that to be a teacher is to perpetually be a student, and for this she is most grateful.  When not in a book, Kris can be found in her family’s York County vineyard, which she tends with her patient husband and two exuberant boys, both of whom are students at SWS.

Salvatore Martino
Class Teacher, Class of 2014

Sal has marked timber and fought forest fire in the Cascades; sat shivering with Tibetan lamas in Boulder and Upstate New York on his way to earning a Master’s Degree in Religion; studied Anthroposophy and Waldorf pedagogy with the likes of Schwartz, Kühlewind, Petrash, Payne, Trostli, McDermott, Schuberth, Gottgens, and others; cycled three times though the Waldorf grades.

Sal has learned this from his years of teaching: All good teaching has some element of inscrutability.  The known is an idol; the inexplicable, the only fact.  Our lives are a fiction, deeply inexpressible.  Despite having a name and a history, Sal remains an enigma, even to himself.

Sharon Hill
Class Teacher, Class of 2015
From the beginning of her life, spent in the cradle of Libya’s deserts, to the farm near Millersville in which she nestles with her three children, Sharon Hill has lived surrounded by love, adventure, children, and learning.  Education fascinates her, and learning as a discipline has been her chosen path since high school. Sharon has earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education at Shippensburg University, followed by teaching positions with Harrisburg-area public schools and three campuses of the Harrisburg Area Community College.

Consulting for other educators and school districts all over the country has enlivened Sharon’s conviction that teaching is, at its heart, the artistry of human development.  Her own children led her to discover the Susquehanna Waldorf School in 2004; Waldorf’s rootedness in a deep understanding of child development has made it a rich place for her family to grow.  The SWS class of 2015, with its tapestry of movement and music, humor and humanity, has flourished in her stewardship. And the world which welcomes them will be bright and wide.

Lisa Sweeney
Class Teacher, Class of 2016

Mrs. Sweeney lives contentedly in the woods of Mt. Gretna in a tumbledown, moss-covered cottage with her grumpy dachshund, Ilsa.  However, it was not always thus.  A youthful fascination with elves and forest folk catapulted her early-on into life as a professional actor in N.Y.C.  There imagination was everything.  Later, the vagaries of adulthood tossed her into the rough seas of directorships: artistic, executive and development.  Finding after a time that high heels hurt her feet and business suits her soul, she wandered barefoot into the world of teaching.  For a decade she toiled in the public school systems and now has discovered the greener fields of SWS.  Having been educated in both the U.K. and the U.S., Mrs. Sweeney professes a deep love for Shakespeare, Latin, Thomas Hardy and Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie like her grandmother used to make.  Her beautiful, grown-up daughter Erin says only this, “My mother never met a gnome she didn’t like.”

Rochelle Hildreth
Class Teacher, Class of 2017

Rochelle Hildreth has frolicked as a class teacher for the past eight years here at the Susquehanna Waldorf School.  Her first class of 2009 gave her a deep and abiding appreciation for the art of teaching and the opportunity to live and learn through music, recitation, number, drama, drawing and storytelling.  Rochelle is extremely eager to begin again guiding another class on the exciting journey that is indeed Waldorf Education.  When not skipping gratefully along the path of Steiner, Rochelle can be found dancing joyously with her 4-year old son Gabriel–and when she is out of breath, she enjoys sitting peacefully among her favorite trees, the sycamores.

Linda Heywood
Pre-Kindergarten Class Teacher

Linda is from Wisconsin, a northern place, full of wind, wilderness, cold and lakes.  She has always loved adventure.  Moving to Pennsylvania, with its mountains, rivers and forests, she met her expectations for new possibilities—hiking, canoeing and a home in the woods.

When the opportunity arose to help begin a Waldorf school and teach its first class, love, courage and the blessings of the world buoyed her enthusiasm and energy.  And so it began, a little school alongside a big river.

Twenty-some years later, this deeply joyful adventure into sharing life with young children continues, informed by Anthroposophy and the children themselves.  Linda still feels the lake-like liftedness of daily joy and work, and usually—but not always—the wind is at her back, whispering, sometimes howling, encouragement.

Lisa Hildreth
Kindergarten Class Teacher

When Lisa first learned about Waldorf education, she was so excited that she wanted to either go back in time and be a Waldorf student or teach.  Weaving the joys of her childhood—study of music and dance, love of nature, an eye for the artistic, and devotion to the divine—with the gifts of adulthood—logical thinking, determination, love of the young child, and enjoyment of handwork—Lisa began her Waldorf training when her two sons were quite young.  With the support of her husband, Lisa attended classes, studied Anthroposophy, led a playgroup, assisted in a Waldorf Nursery, cared for their sons, and tended hearth and home.  In 2003, Lisa joined the faculty at SWS and has taught both kindergarten and pre-k classes.  She earned an MS in Waldorf Early Childhood Education from Sunbridge College and wrote and published her first “fun” book: The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book.  After ten years of writing computer manuals as a technical writer and editor, it was pure pleasure to write about applesauce, bread, soup, and birthdays.  What’s next for Lisa?  Maybe her teenage sons will help her unravel the mysteries of crocheting!

Jackie Randazzo
Parent/Child Class Teacher

Jackie has immersed herself in felting together the joys and challenges of parenting young children with the families in her care.  When she first encountered Waldorf education it felt like coming home.  Reawakened were childhood memories of exploring the forests of Sullivan County, frolicking in the streams and summers of peaceful meditation on her horse’s back.  Her love of children, animals, and nature dovetailed beautifully with the Waldorf pedagogy.  She drank in her training at Sunbridge College and received her Waldorf Kindergarten Teacher’s Certificate.  Jackie has taught and been involved with Waldorf education for fifteen years.  She continues to craft together the joys of Waldorf parenting with young children while weaving life also as the mother of three beautiful daughters, supported by a loving husband, three dogs, one cat, and two horses.  Life is good!

Ruth Hessong
Resource Coordinator

Ruth Hessong has always been a survivor.  Her way to Kindergarten in Munich, Germany, led her past bombed-out houses.  While being a Benedictine nun, also in Munich, she earned a diploma as Occupational Therapist.  At the age of 39, and with the help of Anthroposophy, she left the convent.  Four years later Ruth found herself married in PA with a baby boy in her lap.  Since she wanted Waldorf education for her son, she brought her talents in as well and has been helping children at SWS since 1997.  She is Waldorf-certified for remedial teaching from Sunbridge College.  Ruth is enjoying life.

Nina Radanovic
Music Teacher

Michael Cameron
Orchestra Teacher

Kate Nation
French Teacher

Kate discovered early in life that the more languages one knows, the more people one can speak with and the more one can understand about the world.

She is grateful for the different languages, cultures and travels that have been part of her life.  She has lived and laughed, studied and taught, sung, danced and savored delectable cuisines in six fascinating and beautiful countries.

Mme Nation first encountered Waldorf education during her sojourn in Germany.  Her interest in Waldorf traveled with her to Switzerland and on to Italy, where she finally had the opportunity to teach in a Waldorf school.

As the SWS French teacher Mme Nation seeks to pass on to her students the thrill of communication in another language.  Her advice to anyone is: Never let your passport expire, and always cook your pasta al dente.

Tina Quintana
Handwork Teacher

Donald Kelly
Woodwork Teacher

Donald has always had a deep curiosity of the inner workings of “things.”  This curiosity has morphed from tearing apart scavenged electronics as a kid, through delving into the intricacies of the natural world, and finally into using his hands and found materials to create unique articles.  Over the years he has variously worked as a camp nature counselor, mercantile assistant manager, grease monkey, teaching assistant for various undergraduate courses, bartender, carpenter, free-lance (for free) biologist, environmental rehabilitation point-man for the Donegal Creek project, photographic researcher, mason, roofer, amateur electrician and plumber, and multimedia artisan and small business owner.  He always finds joy associated with the “I finally understand” moment when he learns or passes on some bit of information or skill, whether it be the realization of an entire world in a drop of water or acquiring the ability to drive a nail without hitting a thumb.

Donald earned his bachelor’s degree from Juniata College, where the vastness of the natural world was shown to him.  He then earned his Master’s degree in Limnology (inland aquatic habitats) from Bucknell University.  After he and his wife Jennifer got married and acquired their current property, they set out to grow chemical-free produce and developed a cooperative art and craft gallery and learning center where anyone can learn almost anything.  His philosophy: “Make or make do.”

Jim Mull
Pre-Kindergarten Assistant and Games Teacher

Jim was conceived in the early 1950’s.  His values and life philosophy were formed during the turbulent late 1960’s and early 70’s with such influences as his elementary and junior and senior high teachers, his religious training as a youth, and the profound lyrics of the music of his teenage and early adult years.  Because of those early influences he felt a need to work with people and chose teaching as a path to follow to fulfill that need.

Before Jim went back to college he worked as a teacher assistant with multi-handicapped children and as a summer camp counselor.  During college he worked as a church youth-group leader, early childhood teacher, and summer camp staff-person.  After graduating from Millersville University with a B.S. in Education, specializing in Elementary and Early Childhood education, he worked as an outdoor education instructor, preschool teacher, and teacher assistant with handicapped children.  Since 2000 he has been associated with SWS as a games teacher, basketball coach, and substitute teacher, joining the Early Childhood staff this year.

Jim’s favorite leisure activities are spending time with his friends, reading, traveling, attending sporting events, listening to music, hiking and camping, and engaging in stimulating political and philosophical discussions.  However, his most satisfying moments in life are those he spends interacting with the children of the Susquehanna Waldorf School.

Maria Wherley
Admissions Coordinator

With a passion for people and a high regard for “liberty and justice for all,” Maria’s role as SWS Admissions Coordinator offers the experience of these very elements in her everyday life.  In a voice of celebration, she finds joy and rejuvenation in sharing the many wonders of Waldorf education that ring true for her through her well-rounded, growing sons and others whose lives are changed through this profound education.  Earning a degree in Business Administration as a non-traditional student, combined with her years of experience in marketing, advertising and development, has afforded opportunities both professionally and personally.  Maria has achieved all of this while continuing to evolve as a parent, wife, woman and human being.

Deborah Duke
Business Manager

For Deborah, working at SWS is another study in her two favorite subjects: innovation and transformation. No matter where she goes, there they are. Inventing one company from a block of foam, talking another down from the ledge of bankruptcy, guiding a non-profit from back alley to main street  . . . these are the case studies in her workbook.

With her three greatest teachers, Omar, Anya, and Ezra, Deborah continues to study the ancient art of transforming interlocking to independence – better known as motherhood. After 25 years amid the mountains of the Cascades, she resides again along the Susquehanna River, immersed in the captivating wonders of Waldorf Education, the infinite innovations of home improvement, and the daily transformation that is life itself.

Kirsten Updike
Facilities Manager and Communications Coordinator

Even through the eyes of a child, the difference is clear.  As Kirsten enters her Waldorf classroom she sees there lives simplicity, functionality, beauty: the room is alive!  The woods’ edge is a natural backdrop, glowing through the glass; she is transformed.  Now, joy for learning and new sensory explorations carry her as she navigates her way through music, foreign languages, and veils of color.

She grew up.  Children became the center of her work, sharpening her own focus and inspiring her to take compass in hand and find her way back to the sustaining nutrients of her own Waldorf education.  The terrain ahead is ever-changing and her perspective evolves, but the spiral of her journey continues to come back in toward the center, as she works to support this way of seeing, holding, and educating children.

Fran Denlinger
Front Desk

While on a leisurely stroll with their faithful, four-legged companions, Fran Denlinger and her husband of many happy years paused for a moment at the end of a rainbow bridge.  They marveled at how even the coolest blues and calmest greens could radiate such heat on that hot August afternoon.  That fateful pause would mark a milestone along their path with destiny and would lead their new family to the Susquehanna Waldorf School.

On her journey from ivied walls to Williams Hall, Fran has been maintained by a passion for athletics, sustained by a strong sense of humor, and guided by a stronger sense of purpose.  She greets the multitude of challenges each day at the front desk with joy and gratitude and strives to bring understanding to our school through thoughtful and clear communication.