Susi grew up with her parents and one older sister in West Germany, at the edge of a little town near Cologne, surrounded by her grandparents and several other relatives. As a child, she loved spending lots of time outdoors in the meadows and forests behind her house.

After high school, Susi went on to study foreign languages, art history, and archeology at the University of Kiel in Germany and later at a university in France. She followed her first husband to the United States and they settled in Eugene to attend graduate school at the University of Oregon.

After completing her high school teaching certification and starting her own family, Susi felt strongly that she wanted to deepen her understanding of child development. She had been familiar with Waldorf education through her family in Germany and discovered the teacher training program at the Eugene Waldorf School. She completed this very inspiring training in 1997 and taught German at our school for about ten years.

After her third child was born, Susi took a break from teaching and decided to shift her focus to children who needed more specialized support. She went back to school to become certified as a reading specialist and has been happily working as a reading teacher and Title 1 coordinator at our school for over five years.

In her free time, Susi loves spending time with family and friends. She loves being outdoors, hiking around Eugene and in the mountains, kayaking, cross country skiing, and reveling in Oregon’s beautiful natural areas. She enjoys gardening, drawing, traveling and learning about the history, art, music, and traditions of other cultures.