Our Team
Tamarack’s faculty includes teachers, learning support staff, and specialists. Faculty are dedicated to the creation and implementation of a developmentally-appropriate curriculum based on Rudolf Steiner’s theories and their own research.
early childhood
Martha Flores
With 20 years of service to Tamarack Waldorf School, Ms. Martha ensures the highest quality of education. She has a Waldorf teaching certificate from West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), and a B.A. in Elementary Education with support in Early Childhood, from Alverno College.
“I love the imaginative and gentle approach to child development in the kindergarten. This approach is what sets the tone for a child’s success at Tamarack. Tamarack Waldorf School is like a second home to me, every time I walk in the doors, I find children I love, adults that I respect and a spirit that lifts my heart.”
Early Childhood Chair
Danielle Lohuis
Danielle grew up spending most of her time in the theatre, dancing, and singing. A company member with Wild Space Dance she enjoys music, sewing, creative writing, woodworking, and all things art. She has a BFA in Dance and minor in Somatics (mind/body connectivity) from UW-Milwaukee, and is a Certified Energy Mastery practitioner.
“The approach I take to movement and physical education is to make optimal functioning the priority by supporting the inner connectivities of an individual. It is my goal to have every student excel at any physical endeavor they choose.”
Butterfly Garden Teacher 
Lavender Garden TeacherhALLE lUKSICH
In her spare time, Teacher Halle enjoys Irish dancing with the Milwaukee Irish Dance Company, hanging out with her dog Frankie, playing in a band, and crafting. She has a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin Madison, Certificate, Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin Madison, and is pursuing Waldorf Teaching Certification through Great Lakes Waldorf Institute,
“The fun we have in the Waldorf kindergarten brings so much joy to the children and me. There are so many opportunities to build confidence in these young people through play and real-life experiences. There's nowhere else I would rather teach!.”
Customer Service ManagerSara Martinez
Ms. Sara received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitewater, Wisconsin and is certified to teach English as a Second Language. She spent years in Thailand, South Korea, and India teaching English and studying the healing arts including yoga, Thai massage, energy work and meditation. Sara now lives in Bay View with her family. She loves spending time in nature and she especially loves the beach!
“I feel that a Waldorf kindergarten is the most healing, beautiful place that a child could possibly be.
I am honored to be a part of the village that helps each child to grow and to feel loved and supported."
Leah Neterval-Quiel
Ms. Leah grew up in Milwaukee but enjoys getting out of the city in her spare time. She loves crafting, hiking, foraging, baking, and gardening with her four kids whom she homeschooled with a Waldorf approach for several years. She earned a BA Global Studies and International Affairs, minors in Philosophy and Spanish; a handful of courses in Elementary Education at Alverno College in Milwaukee.
“The space that Waldorf education gives a child to fully embody a connection with nature; their own hands, hearts, and minds is priceless. It is a unique gift to have the opportunity to guide children in this environment as well as see my own children grow in it.”
Lavender Garden Assistant
Allison People
Butterfly Garden Assistant 
Sunshine Garden TeacherEmily Peterson
Ms. Emily lives in Riverwest with her family and four pets. In her free time she enjoys camping, reading, listening to music, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
Emily has a background in journalism and is currently pursuing her degree in Women's and Gender Studies and Library Science.
Lavender Garden AssistantMolly Wardius
Ms. Molly fell in love with substituting in the classrooms, and specifically found she enjoyed the beautiful, healing energy of Waldorf kindergarten. She is looking to pursue a secondary degree in education in the coming years. In her free time, Molly enjoys spending time outdoors, crocheting, reading, baking, and spending time with her loved ones.
She has a B.A. Graphic Design, minor in Sociology, Spanish language certificate; St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI.
Lower Grades
Dorothy Kulke
Ms. Kulke has been working at Tamarack since 2019 and taught in the Milwaukee Public Schools for 11 years as a dance and grades teacher. She also taught at Urban Waldorf for six years, and owned/and operated Seedlings to Sprouts Day Care. Ms. Kulke has a Waldorf and traditional teaching certificate, as well as a Waldorf Early Childhood certificate through LifeWays North America.
She received her MA at Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee and a BFA in Dance from UW Milwaukee.
“Waldorf Education is a wonderful, all-encompassing pedagogy. Having worked in both traditional public schools and Waldorf schools, I have seen how healing, developmentally appropriate and academically rigorous this education can be. I have two children currently enrolled and they have been nurtured and cared for by their teachers.”
Lower Grades Chair
Lavondra ‘Lava’ Ham
LaVondra ‘Lava’ Ham is a dedicated and passionate educator. Ms. Ham was an Elementary and Preschool educator for over 20 years in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. She also helps to enrich youth through teaching theatre arts, yoga, and mindfulness practices. She relocated to Milwaukee to attain her graduate degree in English and recently achieved this dream. She is looking forward to discovering more about Milwaukee, especially the arts and poetry events. Ms. Ham is excited to be be part of the Tamarack Waldorf School Community!
First Grade Teacher 
Second Grade TeacherHodna Nuernberg
Ms. Hodna was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and has lived and worked on three continents. She holds a BFA in Art Education and taught elementary art at the Milwaukee French Immersion School before coming to Tamarack.
Hodna also holds an MFA in Comparative Literature - Translation and an MA in Francophone World Studies and has worked as an editor, literary translator, and university lecturer in France and Morocco.
In her spare time, Hodna enjoys reading, hosting friends, gardening, and biking to the beach. Hodna draws inspiration from the motto artist Corita Kent borrowed from the Balinese: We have no art. We try to do everything as well as we can.
First Grade AssistantBrooke Ogierman
Ms. Brooke was born and raised in the Midwest and has devoted her life to creating and educating. Brooke studied illustration, design, graphic design, writing, and fine art at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Since then, she has found work in all kinds of areas farming, baking, nannying, and art. Since being welcomed into the Tamarack community, Brooke has found pure joy and passion in education.
In her free time Brooke can be found somewhere out in the back country, exploring all that nature has to offer. Brooke is an herbalist, forager, and a mushroom grower. She has a love for music, art, and community and she can’t wait to see where Tamarack takes her.
Fourth Grade TeacherChet Garrett
Mr. Garrett grew up in New Orleans and developed an appreciation for theater, the arts, and his fellow human beings. This has fostered a deep sense of compassion and learning that he is delighted to cultivate in others, especially in children and their families. Along with spending time with his family and friends, Mr. Garrett enjoys nature, learning and philosophy, reading, and music. He has a BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), and is pursuing an MA in Education from (Mount Mary University), and a Waldorf Teacher Certification from the Great Lakes Waldorf Institute.
“Each child carries a hope that is nurtured in Waldorf education. This childhood hope shapes the development of that child, as well as the community of children in the classroom and the school, continuing ever outward to carry this hope into the world. It is this hope that impels the child to discover what it means to be human in their individuality and to be a part of a community.”
Second Grade AssistantFlora Wytch
Ms. Flora is so excited to be a part of the Tamarack team. She is a Milwaukee native and loves traveling with her partner to explore unique museums and attractions; their favorites include the Precious Moments Chapel in Missouri, Funeral History Museum in Texas and House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Flora takes deep pride in being the cool aunt to her niece and nephews and is always first in line to help when they need costumes made. Recently she has been teaching herself how to make chainmail. Flora loves to learn, often filling her spare time with movies and reading, preferring things that really make her think.
Flora’s constant curiosity is a large part of what drew her to Waldorf education; she deeply resonates with how much children are encouraged to wonder.
Upper Grades
Eliza Klunk
Eliza first came to Tamarack as a parent and volunteer and has grown to serve in a leadership role. She also serves as the upper grades applied arts teacher. In addition to handwork and woodwork, she enjoys reading, baking, games, hiking, biking, and movies. She holds a BS in Elementary Education in University of Wisconsin-Madison, a MA Education with Montessori Certification from Loyola University Maryland. She completed the Applied Arts Training Program from Threefold Educational Center, Chestnut Ridge, NY.
“Applied Arts in a Waldorf school reaches something within the student that few other subjects can - it shows them the strength they have within themselves, both spiritual and physical, to work towards the creation of something beautiful and useful. It is a therapeutic and joyful experience.”
Upper Grades Chair & Grades 5-8 Applied ArtsDerek Barnett
Derek grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado and enjoys eating vegan snacks, playing drums in bands, reading, gardening, traveling, and hanging out with his two dogs Scrappy and Anarchy, and cat Ophelia.
Education: B.A., English Literature, University of Colorado—Boulder; M.A., English Literature, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee; PhD, Philosophy, University of Western Ontario.
Grades 5-8 Language Arts, Cyber Civics Second Grade TeacherHodna Nuernberg
Ms. Hodna was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and has lived and worked on three continents. She holds a BFA in Art Education and taught elementary art at the Milwaukee French Immersion School before coming to Tamarack.
Hodna also holds an MFA in Comparative Literature - Translation and an MA in Francophone World Studies and has worked as an editor, literary translator, and university lecturer in France and Morocco.
In her spare time, Hodna enjoys reading, hosting friends, gardening, and biking to the beach. Hodna draws inspiration from the motto artist Corita Kent borrowed from the Balinese: We have no art. We try to do everything as well as we can.
Eighth Grade Homeroom, Grades 5-8 Science, Urban HikePeter Debo
Peter grew up with a love and deep appreciation of the outdoors. His mother and father were both educators, allowing the family to spend summers in the Wisconsin north woods. Not long after completing college at UWM in Conservation Biology and Political Science, Peter and his family moved to Far Oaks, California to pursue Waldorf teacher training. After Peter took a teaching position at the Sacramento Waldorf School, he and his family stayed in California for nearly ten years.
After returning to Wisconsin, Peter remained involved in Waldorf education. He is now an integral part of Tamarack Waldorf School, where he has worked previously twice in his time as an educator, to help develop environmental education programming.
Fourth Grade TeacherChet Garrett
Mr. Garrett grew up in New Orleans and developed an appreciation for theater, the arts, and his fellow human beings. This has fostered a deep sense of compassion and learning that he is delighted to cultivate in others, especially in children and their families. Along with spending time with his family and friends, Mr. Garrett enjoys nature, learning and philosophy, reading, and music. He has a BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), and is pursuing an MA in Education from (Mount Mary University), and a Waldorf Teacher Certification from the Great Lakes Waldorf Institute.
“Each child carries a hope that is nurtured in Waldorf education. This childhood hope shapes the development of that child, as well as the community of children in the classroom and the school, continuing ever outward to carry this hope into the world. It is this hope that impels the child to discover what it means to be human in their individuality and to be a part of a community.”
Second Grade AssistantFlora Wytch
Ms. Flora is so excited to be a part of the Tamarack team. She is a Milwaukee native and loves traveling with her partner to explore unique museums and attractions; their favorites include the Precious Moments Chapel in Missouri, Funeral History Museum in Texas and House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Flora takes deep pride in being the cool aunt to her niece and nephews and is always first in line to help when they need costumes made. Recently she has been teaching herself how to make chainmail. Flora loves to learn, often filling her spare time with movies and reading, preferring things that really make her think.
Flora’s constant curiosity is a large part of what drew her to Waldorf education; she deeply resonates with how much children are encouraged to wonder.