Nancy Blanning
Therapeutic Support
Nancy has been teaching in Waldorf settings since 1982. After 17 years in the Waldorf Preschool Kindergarten, she began to offer therapeutic support lessons for children in our school. Her education includes a BA degree from CU Boulder in English, with teaching credentials, and a four-year therapeutic education training. She also serves as a board member with the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN).
nancyblanning@denverwaldorf.org
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Casey Cormier
Folk Music Teacher
David Dunn
Woodworking Teacher
David came to The Denver Waldorf School as a full-time teacher in 2017 after having taught blacksmith classes at the school since 2010. He also worked with at-risk youth in the Denver area as a teacher and counselor at Denver Children’s Home for eight years and enjoyed being a wilderness counselor with Alternative Homes for youth for four years. David began blacksmithing on a whim back in 2002 and loves spending time in nature – bring on the skiing, biking, hiking and fly fishing.
daviddunn@denverwaldorf.org
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Tom Clark
High School Art Teacher
tomclark@denverwaldorf.org
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Sara Fierer
Strings Teacher
Sara has been teaching at The Denver Waldorf School since 2000 and shares her joy of music with high school orchestra as well as with students in our lower grades. She strives to inspire all her students to have a great time playing instruments. Away from DWS, Sara maintains a private studio and plays with her string trio as well as with the Boulder Philharmonic. Prior to moving to Colorado, Sara taught as an orchestra director for three years near New York City. Sara earned a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Oberlin along with a BA Arts from Oberlin in Environmental Studies. Additionally, Sara earned an MA in Cello Performance and completed coursework in music education from The University of Texas at Austin.
McKenna Fuentes
Spanish Teacher
High School & 8th Grade
Mckenna joined DWS in August 2016 as our second High School Spanish Teacher and also teaches 6th grade math. Having attended The Denver Waldorf School from pre-K through eighth grade, Mckenna went on to graduate as valedictorian from Smoky Hill High School and later earned a degree in Spanish from the University of Colorado, Denver. She taught at Bruce Randolph Middle School before finding her way back to DWS. Her loves include taekwondo, volleyball and travel – she has studied abroad in the Dominican Republic and has visited Costa Rica multiple times. During the summer of 2016, Mckenna is spent time in Thailand working at the Elephant Refuge and Education Center.
Maria “Maru” Garcia
Spanish Teacher
Kindergarten – 5th Grade & 8th Grade
Maru has been involved in education in various roles for almost 30 years. She earned a BA in Theater from Mexico, an MEd from Regi in 2015 and is pursuing her Docto
rate focusing on Organizational Leadership in Education and Business (she expects to graduate in May 2019). During 2011, Maru collaborated with the Colorado Department of Education to create Sample Curricula for World Languages. She began her work in Early Childhood Education as a Teacher and Director in 2001, including owning a large child care center. Today, Maru teaches ECE 256 Working with Families and Communities at Red Rocks Community College and she recently co-founded Early Childhood Hourly Teachers, a company that matches up schools with ECE teachers.
Maru became involved with The Denver Waldorf School in 2008 both as a teacher and a parent – her sons graduated from DWS in 2017 and 2018.
Away from teaching, Maru enjoys painting, spending time with her husband, her boys, her two stepdaughters, her two dogs and her cat. She also directs theatre productions at several Denver area playhouses on a constant basis.
mariagarcia@denverwaldorf.org
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Kevin Gwinn
High School Chorus Teacher
Kevin began teaching at DWS in 2016 and is an active music educator and singer with a passion for music that he loves to share and instill in students of all ages. Along with teaching at The Denver Waldorf School, Kevin teaches at the The Colorado Springs Conservatory while maintaining a private voice studio. As a singer, Kevin regularly appears in the Denver area in operas, musicals and concerts. National highlights include Cosi fan tutte in York, Pennsylvania and Don Giovanni in Yakima, Washington. Local engagements include the role of Parpignol in Colorado Symphony’s production of Puccini’s La Boheme and as Uriel in the Lakewood Chorale’s production of Haydn’s Creation. He has twice been named a finalist in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s Competition for Young Singers. When Kevin is not singing or teaching, he enjoys watching Ole Miss sports (Hotty Toddy!) and traveling to warm places.
Anamaria Leighton
Therapeutic Support
Anamaria offers therapeutic support lessons for children in our school. She has a Master of Science degree in Education from Sunbridge College in New York.
anamarialeighton@denverwaldorf.org
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Angela Martinelli
Games Teacher
angelamartinelli@denverwaldorf.org
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Michael Quinn
Athletic Director
Head High School Boys and Girls Basketball Coach
Michael joined DWS in August of 2003. His recreational history includes eight years as a Recreational Instructor in Youth Sports and Arts at Harvard Gulch Recreation Center in Denver. He taught children ranging in age from 5 to 14. He is a graduate of South High School and attended Metropolitan State College.
athletics@denverwaldorf.org
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Kimberly Martin
Art Teacher
High School
events@denverwaldorf.org
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Mary Spotts
Reading Specialist
Mary has been teaching at DWS since 1997. She earned her BA in Education from Rhode Island College, is certified in the F.A.S.T. remedial program from Denver Academy and has her reading and writing certification from the Cherry Creek school district. Wilson Barbara Wise, Language! and Orton Gillingham are among the many remedial reading courses she has completed. Mary regularly attends Reading in the Rockies, Courage to Risk and Colorado International Reading Association conferences to remain current in her field. She serves on the educational committee of the Rocky Mountain International Dyslexia Association. Mary is constantly amazed by the creativity and warmth of the students she teaches and feels a deep sense of gratitude for the parents that share their children with her.
maryspotts@denverwaldorf.org
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Lynette Stoyles
Music
Four-year Colorado resident Lynette grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Music Education in 1997 from Memorial University of Newfoundland in the same town. Soon after, she headed to the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut to study for a Master of Music in Flute Performance degree, which she received in 1999.
Lynette began teaching music in 1998 and said she lives for the aha moments, but also enjoys the every day discovery and deepening of students’ musical understanding.
“I love helping students experience music and develop their own language to express themselves through music,” Lynette said. “I want my students to understand what they are hearing, playing and creating.”
Having found her way to Waldorf education via Parzival Shield where her son Gavin attended preschool, Lynette commented that she has been learning and discovering ever since and believes the Waldorf approach to education aligns with her beliefs and passion to realize a better world community.
Family time revolves around her husband Scott, Denver University’s Chair of Brass and Percussion at the Lamont School of Music, along with Gavin, a rising DWS second-grader, and their dog Bentley, who enjoys long walks.
lynettestoyles@denverwaldorf.org
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Deborah Wolf
Handwork Teacher
Deb has been teaching at DWS since 1990. She was born in New Orleans and moved to Colorado to attend Colorado College and the University of Denver School of Social Work, where she earned her Master’s degree. She taught in the DWS Preschool Kindergarten for three years and then studied class teaching at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento, California. In 2005, she graduated her second 8th Grade class and has since held the Handwork program. Deb completed the Handwork Training at Sunbridge College in 2010.
debwolf@denverwaldorf.org
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