Meet Our High School Teachers

As the high school humanities teacher, Eric Mills teaches students to be clear thinkers. His classes, which focus on history, storytelling, race, and gender, teach students to view the world more critically.

Before coming to The Denver Waldorf School in 2018, Eric taught English in Denver Public Schools for seven years. During his time at DPS, Eric served as chair of the English department, teacher leader for the student council, and director of the Denver Public Schools district-wide poetry slam. In 2015, he was nominated for the Mayor’s Award for Arts and Excellence in Culture.

Eric holds BAs in philosophy and English, an MA in 20th-Century American literature and literary theory, and is working toward a Ph.D. in literary studies at the University of Denver, where he is researching the decline of the great house in the Victorian novel as it crossed the Atlantic.

Outside of the classroom, Eric has been a passionate advocate for youth representation in the arts and quality education in all schools. He was a classically trained pianist, and he currently enjoys strumming chords on the guitar with his children when he’s not repairing parts of his 128-year-old Denver home.

You might catch a glimpse of Talon pedaling his fixed gear bicycle all over the Denver Metro area (often with a nimble niece by his side), otherwise he’s likely on a bean bag with his cat, nose in a book or mulling over some digital art and the processes therein. After many years working for various startups in Denver and in NYC, he’s quite happy to have recently landed at DWS where technology is carefully considered.

Laura is excited to be the high school art teacher, after teaching art classes alongside three years with DWS as the Next Steps coach, and another three years as HS Coordinator in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She completed her Waldorf High School Teacher certification in 2020 with the intention to teach art. Having received her MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and her BA in Studio Art from Kalamazoo College, she started her art teaching career at the community college level in Bellingham, Washington. Eventually, she moved into student services and career coaching until a major life event reminded her of her artist self, and she was led to finding her place in the Waldorf high school community. Her passion for art is in the creative process, and she believes art-making is a pathway to more deeply discovering who we are as human-beings. When she’s not teaching or making art, she enjoys hiking, dancing, baking, and hanging out with her dog!