BOARD OFFICERS

President
Margaret Ris, M. Ed, Antioch University, brings two decades of Waldorf teaching and administration to the team along with years of working with inner city children. The mentoring and evaluation she has done for Waldorf programs throughout the northeast gives her a deep experience in best practices of Waldorf Education.​

Vice President
Carole Cooke, J.D., Stanford Law School, A.B. University of Chicago, has decades of career experience as an employment and litigation attorney and in leadership roles for community non-profit organizations. The latter include service as Trustee for the Waldorf School of Lexington (MA) and for the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor (MI), and as a committee member and host parent for Winchester (MA) A Better Chance.  Carole’s children both attended Waldorf schools, and she remains a passionate advocate for Waldorf education.

Treasurer
Betsy Peck, B.A.,Wellesley College, has been volunteering and/or working at the Waldorf School of Lexington for over 27 years. Currently working in the Business and Development Offices, she also takes photographs for the website, publications, and parent use. Her two adult sons are graduates of the school, and she would love to see Waldorf educational principles available to wider communities.

Secretary
Cheryl Dressler, Ed.D., Harvard University, has specialized in creating literacy programs for English language learners. She is a researcher and has experience designing and implementing evaluation tools to assess learning outcomes of educational programs. Cheryl has a deep appreciation for Waldorf pedagogy and understands the healing nature of its potential.

BOARD MEMBERS

Beth Dowd, M.Ed., Harvard University, brings a background in prevention work as well as therapeutic remedial work supporting children with gaps in developmental milestones and sensory-motor processing. She served as the Extra Lesson teacher at the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm for 9 years, conducting developmental assessments to uncover obstacles to learning while supporting teachers and students in the classroom. She is a strong advocate of Waldorf education, particularly in its healing potential for children at risk. She has been in private practice on the North Shore for over 10 years, working with children and as a Parenting Coach in support of family life. Beth is the mother of three grown children, all graduates of the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm.

Olga Frechon, M. Ed., Harvard University, has been a Boston Public School (BPS) educator for 28 years. During her tenure at BPS, she has been a teacher; literacy coach in many under-performing K-12 schools; and an elementary school principal. Her main interest is in language development as a way to offer young children with strong and transformative learning experiences that sustain their cultural and linguistic practices in our inner city schools.   

Lauren Smith, Waldorf Education Certificate, Antioch University New England is a teacher at the Waldorf School of Lexington, MA. Having graduated a class of students in 2012 after an eight-year cycle with them, Lauren enjoyed a well-earned sabbatical year. During that year, she has volunteered her time to Cairn Hill to help create and teach the program we piloted at the Salemwood School in Malden, MA. She is now leading another class through the 8-year cycle at the Waldorf School of Lexington. ​