Faculty & Staff

Stephen Sagarin, PhD, Executive Director, History, Art, Math, 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).

Samantha Eliot Stier, MFA, English, History, Admissions, 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.

Robert Andenmatten, MEd, Math, Physics, Chess, 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.

Genève Brossard, PhD, Art, Physical Education, 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.

Katharine Dufault , Art, studied painting and literature at Columbia University, and art at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England. She is a painter and printmaker with work in public and private collections who has had solo shows in New York, Massachusetts, and Cambridge, England, and has participated in dozens of group exhibitions. You can find out more about her and see her work at this link.

Katie Fowley, MFA,, English, Humanities, earned her masters in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA in English from Macalester College. She has taught English, creative writing, journalism, and history at The Hudson School in Hoboken, NJ, and Buxton School in Williamstown, MA. Her debut poetry collection The Supposed Huntsman was published by Ugly Duckling Presse in 2021. She has been awarded writing and teaching fellowships in New York, Lithuania, and at Shakespeare’s Globe theater.

Edward Hamelrath, PhD, German, History, 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.

Julia Nuñez, BA, Spanish, History Through Music, 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.

Kendell Shaffer, BA, English, Drama, Office Manager, earned a degree in Film and Television from New York University, TSOA. She joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) after selling a TV pilot to ABC Studios and a TV movie to Lifetime Television. For twelve years she taught screenwriting for the Writers Guild Foundation High School Screenwriting Workshops, a program for underserved high schools throughout Los Angeles. In 2013 she wrote her first YA novel, Kalifornia Blu, published in English and Japanese. Recently she’s written articles for Baltimore Magazine, including interviews with David Byrne, John Waters, and Gina Schock (drummer for The GoGos). Kendell has worked as a producer in post-production and VFX for film and television. She has produced plays and multiple music videos. She is the parent of two Waldorf-educated children, and has served on advancement committees and produced fundraising events for the Westside Waldorf School and Ocean Charter School.

Dan Bellow, Pottery, is an artist and owns Dan Bellow Pottery  in Great Barrington, where our students attend class. Mr. Bellow’s pottery is made by hand on the potter’s wheel, one piece at a time. His work is sold in galleries and in Anthropologie stores from coast to coast. He also teaches at IS183 Art School in the Berkshires.

Michael D’Aleo, Astronomy, Physics, is a founding member and Director of SENSRI (Saratoga Experiential Natural Science Research Institute). Michael has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rutgers University and a Masters degree in education from Sunbridge College. He was a co-founder of the high school at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs. Michael has been an instructor in the summer Waldorf teacher education program at the Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, NH. Prior to becoming a teacher, Michael was project leader in charge of new product development at Lutron Electronics.

Jon Graney, Blacksmithing, is a metal artist and owns J.F. Graney Metal Design, a custom metal fabrication studio specializing in the most demanding site-specific architectural and ornamental iron projects throughout southern New England and New York. He has been serving the architectural community for over 40 years. Our students participate in Blacksmithing with Mr. Graney at his workshop.

Alexander Thorp, Surveying, heads ACCORD Engineering & Surveying, LLC, in Great Barrington, MA. Al, with his wife Elizabeth, also runs Indian Line Farm, a CSA in South Egremont, MA, which utilizes biodynamics in addition to other sustainable farming practices.

Patrick White 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.