Sara was raised in the driftless area of Northwest Illinois. She and her brothers grew up playing in nature—sculpting snow tunnels and camping in White Pine forests. After high school, Sara was an exchange student in Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Before completing her Master of Arts degree, she was a student at the University of Innsbruck, Austria where she first learned about Waldorf education.

Before stepping onto the administrative team in 2004 at EWS, Sara worked in arts administration and education at an award winning cultural arts center. Today she enjoys working to forward the mission of EWS and to bring Waldorf pedagogy to children and families.

Together with her family she enjoys backcountry skiing, camping, hiking, gardening and grilling the ‘best pizza’ yet.

Nadja spent her childhood years surrounded by the beautiful and lush countryside of middle and southern Germany.

After discovering her love for Waldorf Education, she trained at the Freie Hochschule in Stuttgart, Germany, to become a Waldorf Class Teacher and High School Arts Teacher. During her four-year education, Nadja traveled to different places around the world and developed her artistic skills by sculpting in Italy and participating in numerous art exhibitions. In

2005, Nadja came to Florida, where she taught in several pioneering Waldorf Schools and started a family with husband Tom. Tom and Nadja’s son, Aiden, is currently a student at EWS.

In her free time, Nadja loves spending time with her family and their family dog, painting, drawing, sculpting, reading, and exploring.

Jill was born and raised in the Willamette Valley. Her family has a small farm outside of Eugene where she still spends a lot of her time. Jill attended the University of Oregon during her first three years of college, before moving to Alaska where she completed her final year of education at the University of Alaska Anchorage, earning her bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Accounting

Jill lived and worked in Alaska for 20 years. Soon after starting a family of her own, she decided it was time to move back home to be near her family. Living in Alaska had been a wonderful time and became “home” after so many years. She misses the midnight sun and the wonderful people but feels grateful for the experience and the ability to come back to Oregon where she came from, and near the people who are kin.

Jill’s accounting experience came from organizations with missions to help others. In Alaska, she worked for Hope Community Resources who worked to better the lives of the developmentally disabled. Then she transitioned to Rural Energy Enterprises, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RurAL CAP, a non-profit organization that works to improve the quality of life for low-income Alaskans.

Since returning to Oregon in 2014, Jill has worked as a Contract Accountant for many local organizations around the area. She has developed a much deeper knowledge of accounting by practicing its application in many organizations, tailored to best suit each unique operation. She arrives at Eugene Waldorf School wide-eyed and excited to learn.

Born and raised in Germany, Atta is a master craftsman who gained his love for woodworking from his grandfather. He earned a master’s in economics at the University of Munich, holds a teaching certificate in adult education, and attended the Waldorf high school teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College.

Atta taught in numerous community colleges in Germany. Prior to coming to the United States he lived in Tuscany, where he worked as a builder, started his own woodworking shop, began a biodynamic garden, and worked on a small farm with grapes and olives.

After moving to Cottage Grove, Oregon, he opened his own woodshop specializing in doors, windows, and custom furniture. He also developed wood-turning into a fine art. As operations manager in a small door company in Eugene, he honed his organizational and leadership skills. Also in Eugene, he served as a small claims mediator for the court and eventually branched out to community mediation, human rights advocacy, and restorative justice mediation for the juvenile court system.

After two years in Vancouver, BC, where his wife, Mary Webb, led a class to their middle school graduation at the Waldorf school, he became the woodwork teacher at the Waldorf School of Garden City for grades five to twelve. He also accompanied two high school classes as an adviser to their graduation.

In addition to living in Italy, Oregon, and British Columbia, Atta has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, India, and North America.