Faculty & Staff

Stephen Sagarin, PhD, received his doctorate in U.S. History from Columbia University and his BA in Art History and Fine Art from Princeton University. He is a graduate of the Waldorf School of Garden City, NY, where he taught for 12 years before moving to Massachusetts. He is Associate Professor in Waldorf Teacher Education at Sunbridge Institute and former editor of the Research Bulletin of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education. He has taught at Teachers College, NY, the City University of New York, NY, and Berkshire Community College, MA. His blog is “What is Education?” Dr. Sagarin’s most recent book is How the Future Can Save Us: Fresh Perspectives on Waldorf Education, Principles, Methods, Curriculum (2022). His first book is The Story of Waldorf Education in the United States: Past, Present, and Future (2011).

Genève Brossard, PhD, earned her doctorate in art practice from Goldsmiths College, University of London; an MA in sculpture from Pratt Institute; an MA in art education from Brooklyn College; and a BA in fine art from Mt. Holyoke College. Dr. Brossard has taught and developed art curricula for the New York City Department of Education and many cultural organizations, as well as teaching in undergraduate and graduate art education and fine art programs internationally. She is a practicing artist, with work in exhibitions in London (UK), Florence and Assisi (Italy), NYC, Mexico City, and locally in Brattleboro, VT, and Great Barrington.  Dr. Brossard is a two-time Golden Gloves New York State Boxing Champion and former athlete on the USA Boxing Team, with over a decade of international competition experience.

Julia Nuñez, BA, earned her bachelor’s in French, with a minor in Spanish, from Wichita State University, Kansas.  She did graduate work in French at Middlebury College, in Spanish at Hunter College, studied in Morelia, Mexico, and was in a doctoral program in French and Linguistics at Georgetown University. She received her Waldorf teacher training certification from Emerson College, England and taught French at Michael Hall School.  She also taught Spanish at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York. She is a founder of the Berkshire Waldorf High School,  taught for us for our first six years, and has now returned after eight years from The Waldorf School of San Diego where she was a founder and the lead teacher of the high school. There she taught French, Spanish, humanities main lessons, dance and led the community service programs.

Elizabeth Orenstein, BA, has a degree in botany, ethnobotany, and botanical illustration from Goddard College. She also studied classics, Abrahamic religions, and art history at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Since returning to the Berkshires, she has worked in horticulture and with a variety of local non-profits, most notably on environmental outreach and education. She has volunteered with local community groups on sustainable development, with the Sheffield Contra Dance, and produced swing dances. Ms. Orenstein is a practicing artist, and creates watercolor botanical paintings depicting local flora. Ms. Orenstein is also a proud member of Berkshire Waldorf High School’s Class of 2010.

Samantha Eliot Stier, MFA, earned her masters in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles and a BA in Film from California State University Long Beach. She taught English as a second language at an academy in Los Angeles, California, and at a bilingual high school in Madrid, Spain. Her short stories have been published in several literary journals and magazines, and in 2014 a selection of her stories was featured as part of the New Short Fiction Series, LA’s longest running spoken-word series. She was part of the first ever class at Berkshire Waldorf High School and is a Waldorf graduate. In addition to teaching all levels of English, she teaches various seminars and electives. https://samanthastier.com/

Edward Hamelrath, PhD, has his doctorate in modern European history from the University of Memphis, his MA from the University of Nebraska, and his BA in German Studies from the University of Memphis. He also has a BBA in business and marketing from Mississippi State University. He lived and worked in Dresden, Germany, for 20 years, including teaching at the Dresden International School, the Dresden State Art Collections Museum, the Technical University of Dresden, the Independent Waldorf School of Dresden, and the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarian Research. When not engaged in academic pursuits, he has played bass in a power-klezmer band throughout Germany.

Beth Robbins, MLitt, MA, MEd, published her first book, A Grief Sublime, in 2019 and is currently working on her second, tentatively titled Box of Bones. She received her MLitt (2022) and MA (2016) from Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, her Masters level certification in Waldorf education from Antioch University, and her BA, with honors, from Barnard College, Columbia University. She was the inspiration for and starred in Sproutland, a short narrative fictional film that reimagines the story narrated in her first book. Ms. Robbins teaches English, creative writing, and drama, and directs our spring theater production. She studied directing at Shakespeare & Company. bethrobbinswriter.com

Robert Andenmatten, MEd, taught math and physics for 21 years at the John Dewey Academy in Great Barrington before joining our faculty. He started his teaching career following many years in business in New York and on Long Island. He has his MEd from Lesley University and his BA from Queens College. He is a rated life member of the U.S. Chess Federation and a chess teacher. Other talents include cello, voice, ham radio, and bridge.

Peter Elliston, JD, majored in history at Pomona College, graduated from Georgetown Law School, and worked for Legal Aid in New Mexico, before buying and managing a small bookstore in Albuquerque, NM. Ten years later, he attended Emerson College in England, leading to further study in eurythmy, which he completed in Spring Valley, NY. He taught grades 6 through 8 at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School and then became a full-time high school teacher at the Hawthorne Valley School through 2005.

Patrick White, business manager, owns a boutique marketing communications agency in Stockbridge, focusing on direct mail, design, copywriting, and database management. Previously, he founded several start-ups where he raised more than $30 million in venture capital. He is a 1980 graduate of Monument Mountain Regional High School and a 1984 graduate of Boston College, where he won the Finneran Commencement Award, one of the University’s highest honors. He lives in Stockbridge with his dog Sadie.