Our Teachers
Astrid Thiersch
Astrid Thiersch attended Waldorf School in Stuttgart, and completed her eurythmy training at the Eurythmeum Stuttgart with Else Klink. She performed with the Eurythmeum Stage Group, while teaching at the Eurythmeum, and giving courses at the Dr Hauschka Company. Since coming to North America, she has taught eurythmy from kindergarten through grade twelve, and has taught in teacher trainings in San Francisco and China. She directs the San Francisco Youth Eurythmy Troupe, which gives annual performances with large student groups, and tours worldwide.
David Weber
A native of California, David studied Politics and Music at the University of California Santa Barbara (BA) and Law at the University of Wisconsin (JD). After some years in the practice of law, he trained as a Waldorf teacher at Emerson College in Sussex, England. He has been a class teacher and high school teacher in Waldorf schools for the past thirty-five years, primarily at the San Francisco Waldorf High School. David has also taught
anthroposophical studies, curriculum studies, and music in teacher education programs in the US and China, and lectures widely on Waldorf education.
Karmin Guzder
Karmin Guzder brings over fifteen years of teaching experience to her work with The Main Hall. In addition to completing 8 years as a class teacher at the San Francisco Waldorf School, she has a breadth of teaching experience from Early Childhood through high school. Karmin is currently teaching the sixth grade at SFWS. She graduated summa cum laude from New York University with a B.A. and a B.S. in Anthropology and Studio Art, and earned her Waldorf teaching certificate from Rudolf Steiner College. She has a child in the San Francisco Waldorf Kindergarten and a one year old.
Maria Helland-Hansen
Maria Helland-Hansen grew up in Norway. She received her Eurythmy diploma in Sweden in 1985 and later her diploma as a Eurythmy Therapist in Dornach, Switzerland, in 1993. Her previous experiences include biodynamic farming, two years working in Camphill villages in Norway, two years working in the Vidar Clinic in Sweden, and several years of teaching Eurythmy in a Waldorf school in Norway. She teaches courses through the Bay Area teacher training and is Co directing the Therapeutic Eurythmy Training of North America. She has worked as a Eurythmist at SFWS since 1993.
John Bloom
John Bloom has been General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America since October 2016. He recently retired from RSF Social Finance, San Francisco, where he served as vice-president for organizational culture. As part of his work at RSF he developed and facilitated conversations, programs, and workshops that address the intersection of money and spirit in personal and social transformation. He is a founder and trustee of Yggdrasil Land Foundation, a nationwide land trust committed to supporting biodynamic agriculture and land-based regional economies. He has written two books, The Genius of Money, and Inhabiting Interdependence, both published by SteinerBooks. He is currently working on his next book of essays and lives in San Francisco.
Yoriko Yamamoto
Yoriko Yamamoto (she/her) was born and raised in Tokyo. She moved to San Francisco to study art education in a graduate school. She was an art educator for youth in Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Oasis for Girls, before she found Waldorf education. Through Handwork Teacher Training she found the world of plant dye and that has been her passion. Yoriko currently teaches in both grade school and in high school in San Francisco Waldorf School. She is also a core faculty of Waldorf Handwork Educators. She studied Education and Psychology in Yokohama National University(BA), Museum Studies with Art Museum focus in San Francisco State University(MA), and Handwork Teaching Certificate from Rudolf Steiner College.
Founders
Kate Barhydt
Kate grew up in Sausalito and San Francisco, staying with her Waldorf cohort from nursery through 12th grade. Kate is grateful for the respect and wonder for the natural world upheld in the Waldorf school, which nurtured her own love of plants, animals, and the outdoors. She toured with the San Francisco Youth Eurythmy Troupe while at the Waldorf High School, traveling to Italy, Egypt, and India to perform. Kate graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in Economics, and went on to work in financial management in San Francisco before starting her own floral design business. An experienced surfer, yogi, and meditation practitioner, Kate finds the impact of Eurythmy on her sense of wellbeing unmatched.
Adriana Camile Petersen
Adriana was born and raised in San Francisco, where she attended the Waldorf School, K-12. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado with a BA in Anthropology and Humanities while also working at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. After three years in the corporate world, she started pursuing her own pressed-flower art while also working at the after care program at the San Francisco Waldorf School. Currently in the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training, Adriana is the first grade assistant teacher at the San Francisco Waldorf School. She is inspired to share her love for eurythmy, philosophy, and art, along with all the other gifts Anthroposophy has to offer.
