Faculty & Administration
Nevada Sage Waldorf School takes pride in its dedicated faculty and staff who are committed to providing a nurturing environment for students to thrive. Our team consists of passionate individuals who bring creativity and expertise to the classroom, ensuring a holistic learning experience for every child.
Meet Our
Administrator
Mr. Roland Trub
Mr. Roland Trub is a visionary leader with a deep understanding of Waldorf education. He has owned multiple businesses (including a toy store!) and has experience as a parent of children who attended a Waldorf school. His unwavering dedication to the school's mission and values inspires both students and faculty. As our administrator, he fosters a culture of continuous learning and personal growth.
Our Administration
Early Childhood Faculty
Chamomile Nursery
Lead Teacher
Miss Amber
Ms. Amber has been a shepherd of healthy child development for many years. She has worked for 4 years at Mater Academy Charter School as a 2nd grade teacher’s assistant, phonics and small group specialist, and occasional substitute teacher. These years lit a fiery passion for learning and teaching. As the matriarch of her family, Amber enjoys being a leader, teacher, mother and sister. She is in dual pursuit of an Associate of Arts Elementary Education Teacher Preparation from Truckee Meadows Community College and a Waldorf Teacher Certification from the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teaching in El Sobrante, California. Amber is passionate about social emotional learning and finding gratitude within each day. The Waldorf pedagogy aligns with her naturally loving personality, making for a perfect fit. When she’s not teaching at school, Amber is enjoying raising her young daughter. They enjoy telling stories and dancing, as well as nature infused activities, such as swimming and exploring the Nevada area.
Chamomile Nursery
Assistant Teacher
Isabel Dimas
Miss Isabel was born and raised in California and moved to Reno, Nevada in 2020. She has spent her time with Nevada Sage Waldorf School supporting the early childhood teachers as an assistant. She enriches her teaching experiences by eagerly attending Waldorf professional development conferences and classes. Isabel enjoys spending her free time with her son and other family. Isabel has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2023.
Yarrow Preschool
Lead Teacher
Tailor Pollak
Miss Tailor holds a Bachelors in Fine Art and a minor in Humanities from Sierra Nevada College in North Lake Tahoe. She is currently in the process of getting her three year Waldorf teacher training certificate from Gradalis. Her passion for travel, community, the outdoors and the arts has taken her around the world to study. Tailor is a certified yoga and aerial fabric instructor. She loves sharing circus fun with everyone! For the past 10 years she has been a youth instructor and private art teacher in Tahoe. She has found a home at NSWS and loves teaching children and being a mentor in such an incredible school. Tailor has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2024.
Yarrow Preschool
Assistant Teacher / Morning Care Teacher
Anthony Cuffari
Mr. Anthony has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Valerian Kindergarten
Lead Teacher
Michaella Melius
Miss Michaella has devoted eleven years to Early Childhood Education, including six transformative years teaching Waldorf Kindergarten. Grounded in Waldorf pedagogy, she views learning as a holistic journey that honors imagination, rhythm, and the developing human being. She continually cultivates knowledge through reflective practice, hands-on experience, and responsive dialogue with each child. By observing the child’s inner life and outer expressions, she adapts her curriculum to meet evolving needs and interests, ensuring every child feels valued, empowered, and supported. Creativity guides her life. She is a skilled artisan specializing in crocheting, sewing, wet felting, needle felting, and crafting. She weaves these crafts into the learning process, helping children develop both academic skills and practical life competencies, so they are prepared for whatever life may bring. She is proud to hold over 115 Nevada Early Childhood training certificates, reflecting her ongoing commitment to professional growth and excellence in early childhood education. These certificates span developmental milestones, inclusive practices, curriculum design, and emergent learning, keeping her attuned to the diverse needs of Nevada’s children and families. Miss Michaella has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2019.
Valerian Kindergarten
Assistant Teacher
Mary Goulart
Miss Mary has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Dandelion Kindergarten
Lead Teacher
Sadie Navo
Miss Sadie received her Waldorf early childhood training from Gradalias UWE program and has an associate's degree in early childhood education, social & behavioral science, and natural science from the Sierra College in Grass Valley. Ms. Sadie has had many various teaching positions and experiences over the past 12 years. When Ms. Sadie is not in the classroom, she enjoys spending time with her family and animals, practicing yoga, dancing and creating art. Sadie has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2024.
Dandelion Kindergarten Assistant Teacher
Emma Tomeo
Miss Emma has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Lead Auxiliary Care Teacher
Katelyn Alford
Miss Katelyn has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Extended Care Teacher
Rosemary Renteria
Miss Rosemary has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Extended Care Teacher
Janiece Alatorre
Miss Janiece is currently on a journey toward achieving her Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education, guided by a love for nurturing the whole child—heart, mind, and spirit. At Nevada Sage, her intention is to bring a gentle spirit and a wellspring of creativity, tending to each child’s inner light so it may shine brightly along their unique and magical path. This is her heart’s true focus. Outside of her studies and work, she finds joy in wandering forest trails, painting colors that speak to the soul, listening to melodies from every corner of the world, and giving her time to care for animals at the SPCA. Her most treasured moments are those spent in the warmth of family, especially with her daughter, where life feels most full of wonder. Miss Janiece has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Floater
Tabi Arnett
Miss Tabi has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2024.
Teacher Mentor
Amy Kopald
Amy holds a Bachelor of Fines Arts degree from University of Connecticut and in 1994 completed her Waldorf teaching certification from the Center of Educational Renewal in Santa Rosa, CA. She also holds a certificate in Spatial Dynamics. Amy began her teaching career in her home with a small playgroup, expanding to Kindergarten assistant and then Lead Kindergarten teacher at the Summerfield Waldorf School. Over her tenure at both Santa Cruz and Nevada Sage Waldorf Schools, Amy has taught Preschool, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-5. Amy loves silk marionette puppetry; performing for Artown each year. An avid hiker, she also enjoys traveling and spending time with her children and grandchildren when she is not mentoring and supporting teachers at our school. Amy has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2015.
Grades Faculty
Class Teacher
Amy Barber
The deep meaning and purpose of Waldorf education is what drew Dr. Barber to Nevada Sage Waldorf School. Amy’s academic studies spanned twelve years, which included graduate work, postdoctoral research, and teaching. She received a Bachelor of Science in Zoology & Botany & Plant Pathology from Michigan State University (1997), and a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada (2005). As a child, Dr. Barber found her love of nature exploring the fields and natural areas around her home in Michigan; as an adult, she has a deep fondness for the natural beauty of the Great Basin. She enjoys hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her dogs, knitting, and handwork. Dr. Barber has been an Assistant and Lead Kindergarten teacher at Nevada Sage Waldorf School and was instrumental in starting our grade school. She regularly attends courses and workshops at Rudolf Steiner College and received her Waldorf Teacher Certification in 2017. Dr. Barber has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2011.
Class Teacher
Steve Cook
Mr. Steven Cook has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and a Bachelors in Elementary Education. He has worked as a teacher for children of various ages and grades over the past 23 years. His experience includes both mainstream public and private schools. While teaching in New Zealand with children who are mentally disabled, he earned an anthroposophical certification for human development. In his free time, Mr. Cook enjoys posting videos on youtube, hiking in nature, fishing, and watching sports. Mr. Cook has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2024.
Class Teacher
Anthea Campbell
Mrs. Campbell has spent much of her life pursuing the question of how children should be educated. The first seeds of this began when her own mother was briefly involved in the early beginnings of creating a Waldorf school in Chico, California. Mrs. Campbell graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Biological Sciences (with Honors) and Spanish in 2007 and received her M.Ed. in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from UNR in 2012. Mrs. Campbell taught middle school science for 5 years, continuing to hold her deep belief in experiential inquiry, in the integration of academic subjects, and in bringing music, art and movement to her students’ learning. When she had her own children, she took a break from the middle school classroom and focused on early childhood curriculum from her own home. In that time, she had a chance to nurture her creative passions, including playing the cello, learning new instruments, singing, drawing, painting, photography, and crochet. When she began looking into schooling options for her own children, she found Nevada Sage Waldorf School. As she researched the curriculum and the philosophy behind the beautiful and rigorous teaching methods, she realized that here, at last, was the answer to how children should be educated.
Handworking Teacher
Hannah Waldman
Hannah Waldman graduated from Truckee Meadow Community college with an Associate’s of Art and Associate’s of Science in 2019. She has been practicing handwork for 15 years. Ms. Waldman has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2023.
Math Teacher
Katy Chandler
Katy Chandler is NSWS’s upper grades math teacher. Katy has enjoyed teaching algebra in all kinds of settings, including in a conventional inner city and charter montessori schools She has taught math, gardening, permaculture, and natural building to children and adults for many years. She runs a neighborhood nonprofit in Reno (Be the Change Project) and runs a permaculture urban homestead and demonstration site. Katy joined Nevada Sage Waldorf School in 2024.
Strings Teacher
Catherine Matovich
Ms. Matovich is a classical violist and a country roots fiddler. She plays with the Reno Philharmonic, the Reno Chamber Orchestra and the California Symphony. She is also the fiddler and band leader for the popular Bay Area Cajun-Zydeco dance band, CZ & the Bon Vivants, violist with Red Tango and fiddler and vocalist with the Sierra Sweethearts. Ms. Matovich toured the world with Neil Diamond and has played in back up bands for many of today’s current pop artists. She has taught string workshops in Berkeley, Irvine, Albuquerque, New Delhi and currently runs a violin/viola/fiddle studio in Reno. She loves teaching and watching her students develop their own way to speak through music. Catherine holds a BA in English from Oberlin College and a MA in Old English Literature from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Ms. Matovich has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2014.
Strings Teacher
Hyeyoung Choi
Hyeyoung Choi has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2024.
Spanish Teacher
Janery Echaccaya
Ms. Echaccaya has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Music Teacher
Jenna Talbott
Ms. Talbott has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2025.
Movement and Games Teacher
Monica Salcedo
Monica holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology with minors in Spanish and Human Development from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her experience includes working as a substitute teacher in the Washoe County and Berkeley Unified School Districts, and serving as an assistant at Heart to Hand (a.k.a Nevada Sage Waldorf School). She recently completed 30 hours of renewal coursework in Waldorf Teacher Education from the Center for Anthroposophy. Additionally, she taught games and movement at the school for a year in 2021 emphasizing holistic development through physical activity and play. Although Ms. Salcedo has been with our school for many years, she officially came back to teach Movement and Games in 2024.
Woodworking Teacher
Bob Boardman
Bob Boardman has been with Nevada Sage Waldorf School since 2024.