Faculty

Erik has been guiding children in Montessori environments for over eleven years. He grew up in Duluth and still considers the northern part of the state his "home in spirit." Erik moved to St. Paul in August of 2012 with his wife and two daughters. Aside from Montessori education, Erik's interests include yoga, writing, reading, making art, and studying religions of all kinds. He has a special interest in the spirituality expressed in and engendered by the Montessori method. He has a weakness for coffee shop culture and can sometimes be found haunting these locations around the Twin Cities.

Scott grew up in Brooklyn Park, MN and went to Park Center High School. After high school Scott moved to Duluth, MN to enjoy the great outdoors and attend University of Minnesota Duluth. Some of his studies included all aspects of geography, outdoor recreation and environmental sciences. Scott is passonate about exploring and learning about the natural world. On his free time Scott enjoys spending time with his wife, friends and family. When he is not doing that he likes to spend his time outdoors and on the Ultimate field.

Christina brings a wealth of experience, both as an educator and administrator. She has served as the administrator and taught grades K-higher education in Waldorf schools in Florida and Minnesota and at Itasca Community College where she was also Director of the Writing Center. Christina worked at the Minnesota Waldorf School in Maplewood as they transitioned into their new building and with Watershed High School in Minneapolis during its founding as a private school and subsequent conversion to a public charter school. She and her family were immersed in the community experience living abroad for a year with another family and then as resident co-workers at Philadelphia Community Farm in Wisconsin. Christina deeply values working at Great River School and building the spirit of collaboration, consensus and collegiality.

Emily grew up in St. Paul, but moved to California to attend Scripps College, where she majored in anthropology. After graduating, Emily moved to Isla Mujeres, Mexico to teach English at a small private elementary school. Later, she opened Ixchel Language Institute, where she taught English and Spanish to students of all ages. In 2007, she returned to the Twin Cities, enrolled in a Master's program at Hamline University, and taught Spanish at St. Paul Preparatory School. Emily enjoys reading, cooking, playing soccer, and spending time with her two children.

Additional website: http://classjump.com/andreaa3english/

Andrea grew up in Mound, MN, just outside of Minneapolis. After high school, she attended Luther College in Iowa where she majored in English and Spanish. Her sense of adventure spurred her to spend a year studying Spanish in Valparaiso, Chile and Salamanca, Spain. After graduating from college, Andrea got her teaching license and a Masters Degree in Education from the U of MN. She currently lives in Saint Paul with her two cats, Smokey Robinson and Mr. Sparkle. In her spare time, Andrea likes to laugh, read, bike, run, and play ultimate frisbee.

Kira has been teaching math at a variety of levels and locations for the past 20 years. She has taught in both California and Minnesota, at public and private schools and she has taught everything from 5th grade math through college algebra. Kira has been at Great River since 2006.
Kira and her husband Mike live in St. Paul with their 3 children all of whom attend Great River. Kira completed Montessori Elementary Training at MTCM in the summer of 2012.
During her free time, Kira likes to scrapbook and spend time with her family and friends.

Mary was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She graduated from Univ. of Dayton with a B.A. in Elementary Education and a minor in English.
She later earned a Masters of Education from Wright State University with licensures in three areas of Special Education.
Her early and later career years were in elementary schools as an elementary teacher and as a Special Ed. teacher in both Ohio and Minnesota. One notable job experience was the 13 years she spent as a teacher on a psychiatric unit while working for Dist. 011. Mary also spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica as a teacher trainer. She loves travel, gardening and volunteering in her community.
In June 2005, Mary retired after 20 yrs. as a Special Ed. teacher in Anoka-Hennepin School District 011 before coming to Great River School as a teacher assistant in the Special Ed. Dept.

Michael Flood is heading up the math program in the high school and the “Idea Lab” – a creative workshop at Great River. Michael graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Architecture and spent several years in the Bay Area working as a software designer. During the summer of 2006, Michael attended training to implement the International Baccalaureate program at Great River School. Michael received his M.Ed from the University of Minnesota in 2010.

He moved to Minnesota in 2001 to be with his wife, Gretchen Pick. With the move came a career change to Montessori Education. Michael worked at Lake Country School when he first arrived and helped get Great River School off the ground. Michael has completed several Twin Cities Marathons and the City of Lakes Loppet.

He lives in the Powderhorn Neighborhood with Gretchen and their three children. In 2012, he joined Project Powderhorn365 as a resident photographer. You can see his work at Powderhorn365.com.

A graduate of the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Mary Gantenbein has taught high school English in the Minneapolis and the Bloomington school districts since 1994. Drawing on her skills as a twenty year member of the Twin Cities professional theatrical community, "Ms. G " has directed over 35 productions, both musical and dramatic, in the schools. For several summers, she taught at Chanhassen First Act summer theater camp. Ms. Gantenbein is classically trained in theater and spent 2003 attending the Centro Internazionale Studi Montessoriani in Bergamo, Italy. Her daughter attended Lake Country Montessori from Children's House through eighth grade and graduated from Smith college.

Enrique comes to Minnesota from Costa Rica. He attended the University in San Jose where he majored in teaching English as a second language. He is excited to share his language and interest in culture with students. He loves the summer here, but finds the cold of winter challenging. Throughout the year, he loves to play soccer and, in fact, plays on several teams at once.

Russell Heitman graduated from St. Olaf College with a B.A. in Chemistry in 2000. He lives In Minneapolis, likes dogs and is interested in most areas of public policy and international affairs. He is also committed to spreading the sport of Ultimate through youth coaching and local league play.

Kate grew up outside of Chicago, IL and moved to Minnesota to attend Bethel University, majoring in English Education and minoring in film. After finding the Twin Cities such a wonderful place to live, she decided to stay. Before coming to Great River School in 2008, Kate helped to open and taught English at the St. Paul Conservatory for the Performing Artists. In 2011 she finished her MA in English at the University of Saint Thomas, with an emphasis on Marxist theory and film studies. Kate also loves technology and art, and spends summers teaching at a technology camp. Recently, she also started a mobile application development company with friends. She enjoys camping, filmmaking, traveling, ultimate frisbee, and distance running.

Nelson grew up in New York, where after earning an M.A. in Theater Arts, he worked on the American Masters series for PBS. He has lived in Minneapolis for 15 years, working as a teacher, coach and bar tender. In 2009 he worked on drama/oral history projects with the Minnesota Historical Society in Wadena and Staples. He was proud to be named a "Change-maker of the Year" in 2005 by the Minnesota Women's Press for his efforts in planning and implementing a successful strategy to increase the Minnesota minimum wage, and continues to organize and advocate for tipped employees. This past year he was a candidate for state representative in South Minneapolis. He also loves cycling, cooking, and swimming in Lake Nokomis. He and his wife Emily have twin boys.

Deb has a dual role at GRS as both faculty and parent.

Molly graduated with a B.A. in Russian Eurasian Studies from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO in 2001, and completed both her teaching license for grades 5-12 in Social Studies in 2005, and her Master of Arts in Teaching, at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN in 2008. Along with social sciences, art, theater, and music have been lifelong pursuits for her personally and professionally.

Molly loves teaching, and is also a professional collage artist who was commissioned for a book cover in 2008 and sells her work locally and online.

Since 2005, Molly has taught a course on women in the history of science, technology, and engineering at STEPS, an all-girls camp each summer at the University of St. Thomas.

Molly loves great series drama, science fiction, dancing, sushi, and lives in South Minneapolis with her partner Aaron, their son Ezra, two border collies, and a cat.

A Los Angeles native, Faith moved to St. Paul to attend Macalester College, where she graduated with majors in Psychology and Educational Studies and a minor in Dance. During her time at Macalester, she explored her varied interests, dancing in and choreographing pieces for six dance concerts (two of her pieces were selected to represent Macalester in regional college dance conferences), conducting research in a Developmental Psychology lab, and student teaching in myriad educational settings, including a kindergarten in Copenhagen, Denmark, and in the Special Education program at Ramsey Jr. High. Upon graduating, Faith worked at Urban Arts Academy, a non-profit organization in South Minneapolis, as an Elementary Education Specialist in their After-School arts program, and spent this past summer teaching free art classes at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. From these experiences, she has developed a deep interest in holistic, alternative forms of education, and as the AmeriCorps Promise Fellow at GRS, she has the opportunity to serve students in a nontraditional capacity.
In her spare time, Faith enjoys eating meals she can't afford, biking short distances, making to-do lists, and winning. She also does yoga and embarrassing workout videos in order to maintain a diet that is primarily comprised of fine cheeses and fizzy drinks.

Sarah received her B.A. in anthropology from the University of Michigan and her M.Ed. in special education - learning disabilities from the University of Minnesota. Her areas of interest are in Montessori education and learning disabilities, dyslexia, autism, brain based methods, mindfulness and yoga training for students with attention deficits and sensory concerns. She is trained in the Orton Gillingham reading method and Yoga Calm for children.

Sarah lives in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis with her ferocious yet charming black cat, Chaos. Sarah moved to Minnesota, sight unseen, about 10 years ago to serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at the Minneapolis American Indian Center where she worked on literacy programming. Between becoming a teacher and being a VISTA Sarah worked with adolescents and families at non-profit agencies. In her spare time Sarah enjoys cycling, backpacking, jogging, Hatha Yoga, cooking and eating ethnic vegetarian food, listening to folk music and storytelling, and watching independent films.

Lydia received her Bachelors from Colby College in American Studies and Masters from Northeastern University in Recreation Administration. She has lived most of her life in New England, but moved to the mid-west to work for the Girl Scouts. After 6 1/2 years with the Girl Scout Council in St. Paul, she went to work for Tapestry Folkdance Center in South Minneapolis as the External Relations and Development Director. When a position opened up in the Minneapolis Public School that her children attended, she took it. After 5 years as the Parent Liaison, she moved to Great River School. Both of her children graduated from GRS and are attending college.
When she is not looking for resources to support the school, she is in the garden, reading a book or making some delicious baked item. You can also find her camping or on her bike.

Randi grew up in South Minneapolis and attended a Lake Country, a Montessori school k-8th grade. She knew at a very young age that she wanted to be an artist. She took all sorts of classes growing up from ceramics and painting to glassblowing and quilting. Believing there is nothing quite as satisfying as making something with ones hands, she went to college in Worcester, MA where she studied studio art and art history. She organized a program that worked with at-risk teens and began volunteering in nearby schools. After six months of working in one of London's most esteemed galleries for modern art, she abandoned the corporate art world and turned to teaching.

When not doodling, Randi can often be found reading, biking or making handmade pasta. She loves traveling to new, exciting places and hopes to get to Patagonia sometime soon.

Matt has lived in the Twin Cities for the better part of the past decade and considers it his home. However, he has also called a few other places home - including several places next door in Wisconsin, Chicago, the top of a mountain in Idaho, the French Alps, the Harry Potter castle in Alnwick, England and most recently, San Salvador, El Salvador. He has served as a teacher and administrator for most of his stay in the Twin Cities, working with adolescents and adults after initially getting into education through coaching Alpine Skiing and Soccer as a university student.

Academically, Matt has an interesting background with an undergraduate degree in History and French, and Business Management, a masters degree in social studies education (5-12), and is in the process of completing an administrative license at Hamline University.

When Matt is away from school, the outdoors are where you would find him as much as possible, biking, running, camping, canoeing, skiing and fishing, among many others, with his wife, family and friends. When forced indoors, he can still be happy reading, playing with plants or pets and baking pizza.

Caroline grew up in a large and wonderful family in Indianapolis. After high school, she left Indiana to pursue a dual degree in music education and Norwegian at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. After college, Caroline moved to Norway to work as an au pair for several months before returning to the states to begin teaching. Outside of school, Caroline enjoys playing piano and guitar, running and cross country skiing, and reading. During the summer, she travels internationally with high school student ambassadors from the Twin Cities area.

Benedict Moudry has experienced Montessori education from a few different perspectives. He was a Montessori child, pre-school through 8th grade, has completed two Montessori trainings, is a parent of children who attend a Montessori school, is a board member at another Montessori charter school, and promotes Montessori education, especially in public schools, consulting with schools locally, regionally and nationally to add or improve adolescent programs.

Benedict has taught for twelve years in adolescent programs, ten of those years at Montessori schools. In his second year of teaching he was recognized as Teacher of the Year at Richfield Middle School. At GRS he continues to serve as a teacher, but also has the roles of Adolescent 1 Coordinator and the administrative role of Montessori Director. He continues to enjoy the challenge of innovating and implementing progressive education ideas that meet the developmental needs of adolescents, helping them to construct themselves into mature, responsible, and engaged citizens.

Benedict lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three young children (although they seem to be getting older all the time). Although his roots are in the Midwest, his travel to over 40 of the 50 states and international travel to the British Isles, western and central Europe, China and Tibet, as well as living briefly in East Africa, inform his perspective. Besides loving work and travel, he also enjoys hiking, backpacking, fishing, playing basketball, and spending time as much time as possible with his family.

Sam uses his professional experience as an outdoor educator, organic farmer, landscape designer, structural bodyworker, and sculptor to enrich the classroom experience. He has worked teaching ages 2 - 82 instructing widely varied topics such as organic gardening, ultimate frisbee skills, coaching and team building, and entrepreneurial skills for homeless youth ages 15-22.

At Great River School, Sam teaches Drawing & Design, Ceramics, and IB Visual Art. Sam also works collaboratively with subject teachers to integrate visual art and hands-on activities into core curriculum, enhancing student learning through engagement. In visual art classes, the curriculum at Great River utilizing classical drawing, art history research, literacy, experimentation, and personal expression.

While not teaching, Sam spends time with his partner and two children in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of south Minneapolis. They enjoy growing food, cooking meals, and breakdancing in the living room. Sam also enjoys making sculptures, playing polyrythmic guitar, napping with his children, and thinking about tensegrity in the human body.

Ann is a social work student at the University of Minnesota working on a dual license as an addiction counselor and a mental health counselor. She was inspired by Great River's educational mission and is glad to provide social and emotional support to the students in this holistic learning environment. Outside of the social work world, Ann is an Argentine tango dancer and teacher as well as a trained chef. On the weekends, you will most likely find Ann out dancing into the wee hours of the morning, organizing large dinner parties, or sitting around a tea table with her closest friends drinking Chinese tea and discussing politics, spirituality, or art. Ann is a Minnesota native, enjoys traveling, and thinks Minnesota is one of the best places to live and raise a family.

Melanie graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in foreign studies. During college she worked with a women’s art and community development cooperative and the World Food Programme in rural Kenya for six months. During and after college, Melanie worked as an editor at a magazine, newspaper and investment banking firm. She investigated food security policies and international development policy while earning her master’s degree and teaching in human and cultural geography at the University of Colorado — Boulder. While serving as a Teaching Assistant during graduate school, Melanie was honored as Teaching Assistant of the Year.

Melanie has a teaching license in grades 5-12 social studies and has nearly completed her master’s degree in education. She volunteers as a Board member for the Macalester Groveland Community Council and is involved with environmental activism in the Twin Cities.

Her husband Erik teaches at Highland Park Senior High School, and Melanie has two daughters Chloe and Greta. In her free time, Melanie loves to travel, garden, cook, play soccer, read, camp, hike, bike, and do yoga.

Zachary teaches instrumental music and the International Baccalaureate music class. Zachary grew up in a small town outside of Hartford, Connecticut where earned his BA in Music Composition at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. After completing his degree, he worked in the Granby Schools as a composer-in-residence and as a tutor, while giving drum lessons on the side.
In 2000, Zachary left Connecticut and headed to Los Angeles where he completed his MFA in Music Composition at the California Institute of the Arts. Striving for greater challenge, he accepted a position selling Italian ice at Six Flags. Considered an old-timer by amusement park standards, he was forced out of the Italian ice business by a sixteen year-old nacho salesman looking to move up. Zachary returned to education, working for three years as a math and percussion teacher at the Renaissance Arts Academy in Los Angeles before moving to Minnesota last year. He currently lives in South Minneapolis with his wife Phala and daughter Larcom.
In his spare time Zachary enjoys being a dad, plucking stringed things, record collecting, writing songs, reading, listening to Skeeter Davis, and playing drums in the Halcyon Brothers and the Beatles tribute band "A Hard Day's Night".

Andria holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato where she majored in Communication Studies and double minored in Psychology and Child Development & Family Studies. She lives in Brooklyn Park with her husband, Jason, and daughter, Mila. Her interests include travel, home design/decorating, reading, gymnastics, dance, and spending time with family and friends.

Sheila comes to GRS with a B.A. in Natural Science and an M.Ed. in Secondary Science Education. Her teaching experience includes schools in Madison, WI, Quito, Ecuador and here in St. Paul, MN. She teaches physics and IB Environmental Systems and Societies. As someone who loves the outdoors she enjoys camping, hiking, swimming and biking with her husband, four children and dog Kelly.

Erica lives in St. Paul with her family, their dog and three cats. She loves to travel and has lived in the Middle East and Europe. Some of her interests include reading, gardening, cooking, doing yoga and photography. Before coming to Great River, she taught French at Lake Country School in Minneapolis.

Seth grew up in South Central Wisconsin and moved to the Twin Cities to attend Hamline University where he received his B.A. in Social Justice and Conflict Studies. Seth worked in a Minneapolis alternative school for five years as a Student Support Coordinator, before deciding to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of MN. Since completing his MSW, Seth has continued to work in charter schools as a school social worker. Seth is a trained circle keeper and incorporates restorative justice into his daily work and life.
Seth lives in South Minneapolis with his wife, Nissa, and their son, Nolyn. In his spare time, he loves to spend time with his family, cook, be outdoors; biking, camping, hiking, canoeing, hammocking, playing soccer and skiing. Seth loves adventures, traveling and experiencing new cultures.

Marcus will be coordinating athletics for three schools, Great River School, Twin Cities Academy and Avalon School. He comes to the Athletic Director position with experience in sports but also brings extensive experience in management, development, and education. For several years, he was the Executive Director of Walker West Music Academy and the Fine Arts Director at the Redeemer Center in Minneapolis. He has coached many sports including basketball, track and football. He has also taught Sports Literature, and music. Currently, he coaches football at Arlington High School as the head coach. When he is not involved with sports, Marcus loves to play the piano and drums as music runs in his family bloodline - his father was also a musician.

Brad comes to GRS with a background in Special Education, Social Studies and IB. He is currently working on finishing his Doctoral degree in Education Administration at Bethel University. Brad is licensed in DCD, EBD, Social Studies 7-12 and currently holds a Ed.S. degree from the University of St. Thomas. He also coaches soccer, has experience in marketing and event planning and could help you with a real estate transaction if you needed it.

Angela has spent over 13 years as a Montessori teacher in private as well as public Montessori schools at both the lower and upper elementary levels. Angela obtained her B.A. from University of St. Thomas with majors in both Education and Spanish. After the invitation of a friend, Angela returned to the St. Kate's to complete the Montessori training and her master's degree. Taking the opportunity to be an administrator at Bluffview Montessori School in Winona, Angela simultaneously completed her Principal's license through St. Mary's University of MN while teaching at the E2 level. Currently, Angela lives in Chaska, MN with her husband and 5 children.

Angela van der Puije grew up in the North End neighborhood of St. Paul. She attended St. Mary's University in Winona, MN, earning a BA in Biology (Nuclear Medicine). She then went to Ghana as a Peace Corps volunteer for two terms of service for a total of four years. Angela earned her MA in Special Education from the University of Oregon. Angela has spent many years teaching in both Ghana and Minnesota. She is a founding teacher of Great River School and also completed the original application for the International Baccalaureate program.