ICW Lecturers 2024

Our ICW lecturers introduce themselves. They are listed in alphabetical order by surname. 

Liz Beaven, Ed.D. - Alliance for Public Waldorf Education 

San Francisco, USA

  • 1972-1975: BA and MA at the University of Auckland, New Zealand
  • 1988: Waldorf Teacher Education at the Rudolf Steiner School, New York
  • 1988-91: Class teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School, New York 
  • 2011: EdD in Educational Leadership at the University of California
  • 1991-2012: Class teacher and then School Administrator at the Sacramento Waldorf School, California
  • 2013-2016: President and Senior Administrative roles, California
  • 2016-23: First Associate Professor, then Provost/ Academic Vice President and later Special Assistant to the President at the California Institute of Integral Studies
  • Since 2022: Executive Director at the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education

Kelly Collier - Centre for Creative Education

CapeTown, South Africa

  • 1998-1999: Researcher and Administration - Research Assitant to Prof. June Bam Hutchison
  • Founding Member, Director, Co-ordinator: Sacred Unity Circle NPC
  • Until 2022: Lead Kindergarten and Playground teacher at the Gaia Waldorf School
  • Since 2023: Mentee Lecturer at the Centre for Creative Education 

 Lajja Mandal - Forest House Waldorf School

Hongkong, China

  • Born in Mumbai, India, 1973
  • Schooling in Dubai, UAE
  • 1994: Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Bhavans College/ Bombay University
  • 1994-1995: Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology - Patholohy/ Mithibai College
  • 1997-1998: Bachelor of Education - Hansraj Jivandas College of Education/ Bombay University 
  • 2005-2007: Basic & Advanced training/ Rudolf Steiner Education
  • 2012-2014: Certification in Eurythmy
  •  2005-2018: Teacher, Tridha, A Rudolf Steiner School/ Mumbai, India
  • Since 2018: Class 6 Teacher/ Vice-Principal, Forest House Waldorf School/ Hong Kong - China

Dr. Ida Oberman - Alanus University

Oakland, USA

  • Dutch-born and German-educated  
  • Graduated from the Waldorf School in Tübingen, Germany
  • Waldorf teaching diploma in Stuttgart Germany, BA from Swarthmore College, PhD in Education from Stanford University
  • After a decade of teaching in New York City,  she served as the education program officer of the Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, CA
  • 2010: Founder and executive director of Oakland’s TK-8 Community School for Creative Education [CSCE]  
  • 2017: In collaboration with Mills College, Alanus University, Friends of Waldorf Education, and  CSCE, Ida launched the Mills Waldorf Professional Development Certificate Program
  • Over the past two decades: Has guided practitioner and researcher groups to present together at conferences including the National American Education Research Association Annual Meeting on cutting-edge work surrounding focus on the whole child and systems change  
  • She serves on the board of  Faith in Acton East Bay, a multi-racial, multi-ethnic federation of houses of faith and schools representing 60,000 families in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties 
  • 2023: Senior Research Fellow, Alanus University 

Emma Paulino - Leadership Formation at Faith in Action East Bay

Oakland, USA

  • Born 1955 in Mexico
  • 1997-2020 Organizer, Faith in Action East Bay [FIAEB] (formerly Oakland Community Organizations)
  • 2018-2023 Director of Leadership Formation and Organizing, FIAEB 
  • 2022- Present Director of Leadership Formation, FIAEB 
  • 2023- Present Organizer, PICO International

Dr. Jürgen Peters - Alanus University

Alfter, Germany

  • 1980: Mathematics diploma at the Ruhr University Bochum  
  • Lecturer in the Waldorf Teacher Training Programm in Wilton NH, USA  
  • Lecturer at the Institute for Waldorf Education in Witten-Annen 
  • Until 2005: Teacher of mathematics and physics at the Waldorf School in Witten, Germany 
  • 2005-2008: Lecturer at the Rudolf Steiner Vocational College Dortmund and freelance consultant 
  • 2009-2013: Research assistant in the Department of Education leading to the completion of a doctorate on the topic of "Work-related behavior patterns in Waldorf teachers" 
  • 2013-2021: Lecturer for special tasks in the Department of Education 
  • Since 2021: Lecturer at the Alanus University  

Dr. Martyn Rawson - Waldorfseminar Kiel

Kiel, Germany

  • Born 1954 in Glasgow (Scotland)
  • Studies: BA Joint Hons English Literature & History,  York University, MA Plymouth University in Educational Research, Education Doctorate Plymouth University theme: Learning as becoming a subject in a Waldorf school: A hermeneutic phenomenological study.
  • 1979- to date Waldorf teacher:  York Steiner School, Michael Hall, UK, FWS Uhlandshöhe, Stuttgart, FWS Elmshorn, Christian Morgenstern School, Hamburg.
  • Teacher education: Freie Hochschule Stuttgart, Greenwich University, Waldorfseminar Kiel, 
  • Since 2020 Hon. Professor National Tsinghua University Taiwan
  • Most recent publication: Steiner Waldorf Pedagogy in Schools (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2021)

Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Dirk Rohde - Alanus University

Alfter, Germany

  • 1956: Born in Oldenburg (Germany) 
  • Fields of study: Biology, Chemistry, Pedagogics and Ethnology in Marburg and Freiburg (Germany); Goetheanistic Science in Dornach/Switzerland 
  • Guest studies in Seattle/USA, San José/Costa Rica and Basel/Switzerland 
  • 1988-2021: Science teacher at Free Waldorf School in Marburg 
  • Since 1990: all sorts of different tasks within the Waldorf movement 
  • 2003: Doctorate on the topic: “What is the meaning of ‘lively’ teaching?” 
  • 2021: Habilitation treatise on the topic: “How do Waldorf students cope with the demands of centralized final high school exams?” 
  • Since 2022: Honorary professor of educational science with a focus on Waldorf education at the Alanus University in Alfter (near Bonn/Germany) 

Sven Saar - The Modern Teacher: Education as Art

London, UK

  • Born in Germany in 1966 
  • 1990 Diploma in Waldorf Education Witten/Annen 
  • 1990 – 2008 Class teacher and Upper School teacher in the UK 
  • 2008 – 2016 Class teacher in Wahlwies/ Germany 
  • Since 2011 Regular articles for the journal “Erziehungskunst” 
  • 2016 Class teacher at Steiner Academy Hereford/UK and transition to teacher education 
  • 2022 Publication of the book "Beziehungskunst" on Sexuality, identity and humanity in Waldorf Education
  • Active mentor to developing schools in Thailand, India, the Philippines, and Kenya
  • Sven Saar gained his Waldorf Teaching Diploma at a very young age. After moving to England, he worked as a class teacher for 30 years, eight of those in Germany. He also taught in the High School, specialising in history and drama. Now he works full-time in Teacher Education and is on the faculty of several courses and universities in the UK and worldwide. Sven gives lectures and seminars internationally and works as an active mentor and advisor to schools and teachers in Britain, Germany, Asia and Africa. He is a co-founder of The Modern Teacher: Education as Art, which organises international courses such as "WALDORF DIRECT" and "WALDORF 360" .

Prof. Dr. Wilfried Sommer - Alanus University / Institute for Subject Related Methodology 

Alfter / Kassel, Germany

  • Diploma in Physics
  • Doctorate in Physics: A Phenomenological Approach to Diffraction
  • Professor for School Pedagogy focusing on Phenomenological Teaching Methods
  • Co-Founder of the Kassel Youth Symposium
  • Since 1996 Teacher at Steiner Waldorf Schools
  • Since 2003 Board Member of the Teacher Training College and Pedagogical Research Center in Kassel
  • Expert on Doing Phenomenology in Science Education

Niels Schieman MA/ BSc - Hogeschool Leiden

Leiden, Netherlands

  • Born in Eindhoven, Netherlands
  • 2002: Master International Business Administration
  • 1994: Bachelor European Forestry
  • 2002-2004: Maastricht University; Teacher in Organizational sciences 
  • 2004-2012: HZ University of Applied Science; Teacher in Human Resource Management
  • 2012: Teaching certificate for higher education 
  • 2012: Teaching certificate for higher education 
  • 2012- 2021: Waldorf School The Hague: Principal 
  • 2018-2021: International Waldorf School The Hague; Principal and founder 
  • Since 2021: Leiden University of Applied Science: Manager Bachelor of Waldorf Education

Prof. Dr. Jost Schieren - Alanus University

Alfter, Germany

  • Born in Duisburg (Germany) in 1963
  • Fields of study: Philosophy, German Philology and Art History in Bochum and Essen
  • Guest studies in Ann Arbor (Michigan, USA) 
  • 1997: Doctorate on the topic: "Perceptive Power of Judgement. Methodical and Philosophical Foundations of Goethe's Scientific Recognition." 
  • 1996-2006: German teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School in Dortmund
  • 2004-2008: Research assistant at the University of Paderborn 
  • Since 2008: Professor of school pedagogy with a focus on Waldorf education and head of the department of educational science at the Alanus University in Alfter near Bonn

Ruhi Tyson - Stockholm University

Stockholm, Sweden

  • 1978: Born in Stockholm (Sweden) 
  • Fields of study: Bookbinding; Pedagogy 
  • 2017: Doctorate on the topic of vocational Bildung 
  • Teacher of bookbinding at Kristofferschool 
  • Senior lecturer at Waldorf University College 
  • Senior lecturer at dep of Ed. Stockholm university 

Margareta Van Raemdonck - European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education

Rotselaar, Belgium

  • Born in Brussels 1957
  • MA Germanic Philology. English/Dutch
  • Qualified teacher for higher secondary education
  • 1982-1989 teacher in various secondary schools
  • Literary translator of children and youth literature from Swedish into Dutch
  • 1989- 2006 Class, English, Dutch and forestry teacher at “Zonnewijzer” steinerschool in Leuven
  • 2004-2019 Responsible for recognition of steinercurriculum in secondary education at Federation of Steinerschools Flanders
  • 2011-2019 Coordinator Secondary Steinerschools in Flanders
  • 2012-2020 Belgian representative in the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education
  • Since 2016 board member of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education
  •  Since 2018 board member and teacher educator at EduArta, Atelier Seinerpedagogie
  • Since 2021 president of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education 

Christof Wiechert - Alanus University

Den Haag, The Netherlands

  • Born in 1945 
  • Pupil at the Waldorf school in the Hague, Netherlands 
  • After studying education and geography, 30 years of teaching at the Waldorf school in the Hague
  • Cofounder of the Dutch State Waldorf Teacher Training Seminar. For many years he was a 
  • Councilmember in the Anthroposophical Society in the Netherlands 
  • Together with Ate Koopmans, he developed the „Art of Child Study“ course. He has lectured in many countries
  • Since September 1999: Has worked for the Pedagogical Section 
  • October 2001-December 2010: Head of the Educational Department of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum in Dornach/Switzerland
  • Since 2008: Lecturer at Alanus University 
  • Since 2024: Senior research fellow at Alanus University
  • He continues to work for the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum and on pedagogical and anthroposophical themes in different countries