Jessica Heffernan Ziegler
Executive Director
Jessica has been the executive director of Sunbridge Institute since 2008; previously, she taught collaboration and group dynamics in Sunbridge College’s Administration, Biography, and Elementary Teacher Education programs. Jessica has worked as an executive coach and organizational development consultant for Waldorf school administrators and teachers, as well as other professionals, in diverse institutions and schools in both the US and Germany. She served as the first administrator and as a board member at a Waldorf school she co-founded in Everswinkel, Germany; is a partner in MIRA Companions for Development, an international consulting group; and sits on the boards of Manhattan’s Rudolf Steiner School and the Otto Specht School in Chestnut Ridge, NY. Jessica who holds a BS in business management, did her biography training with Karl-Heinz Finke and her executive coach training with SECA International. Her professional focus on leadership skills, governance issues, and personnel development are utilized in both her Executive Director position and in her work as co-instructor of Sunbridge’s “Collaborative Leadership” course and related workshops.
Jessica is a parent of a son and a daughter, both of whom went through Waldorf schools and graduated from Green Meadow Waldorf School. Her deep belief that education can improve the world—and that Waldorf schools offer the most inspired and meaningful approach to education—is the prime motivation behind her work at Sunbridge. When she is not in her office, Jessica creates her elixir to daily life by spending time near, or on, the water.
Linda Ogden-Wolgemuth
Director of Education and Advancement
Linda joined Sunbridge Institute as director of education in 2018, having previously served as a trustee on the Sunbridge Board. From 2006-2018 she was a class teacher at Manhattan’s Rudolf Steiner School, where she also sat on the Board of Trustees and College of Teachers and chaired the Community Education Committee. A longtime student of anthroposophy, Linda’s background in education also includes teaching at the university level. She earned her bachelor’s degree with honors in the field of German area studies from The Johns Hopkins University, her master’s and doctoral degrees in German languages and literatures from the University of Pennsylvania, and her certificate in Waldorf teacher education from Sunbridge College. The parent of a college sophomore (and Steiner School graduate), Linda is excited to be back at Sunbridge, embarking on a new administrative phase of her career in Waldorf Education. In her free time, she loves to travel with her husband and parents and indulge her love of Broadway theater as often as possible. She also enjoys singing, cooking, knitting, and reading historical mysteries and is writing a book—either a collection of midlife poetry or a mystery novel (whichever comes first!).
Barbara Vitale
Admissions and Summer Coordinator
Sunbridge welcomed Barbara to its administrative team in 2019. In taking on her new role of admissions and summer coordinator, Barbara will be utilizing organizational skills she honed during a 30-year administrative career working for a distinguished global law firm (whose early clients included Thomas Edison, James Joyce, Winston Churchill, and the Wright brothers). Her experience at the firm included serving as a real estate project manager and, most recently, a paralegal manager, managing workflow and establishing procedures and protocols for a team of 25 paralegals working across several domestic and international offices. In her free time, Barbara, who first came to know the Threefold Community as a Nature Place Day Camp parent, enjoys domestic and international travel, skiing, hiking, and spending time with her family. She holds a BA in sociology from City University of New York-Brooklyn College, and we are very happy to have her represent our Institute.
Tamara Photiadis
Registrar and Database Administrator
Tamara joined the Sunbridge staff in 2014. Previously, she had a long career in advertising graphics, including business ownership, and before that, worked many years in accounting for non-profit organizations and colleges. She holds a BS in business administration. Tamara’s two young children are students at Green Meadow Waldorf School, and her hobbies include sewing, holistic healing, and reading. She is a strong Waldorf enthusiast and is thrilled to serve the Sunbridge community, keeping meticulous records for our students and faculty.
Liz Whalen
Finance Director
Liz became Sunbridge’s finance director in spring 2018 following the retirement of longtime staffer Bette Shertzer. Liz’s business background includes working as an operations associate–with a focus in accounting and client services–at Goldman Sachs from 2007-12 and, more recently, assisting in operations at Threefold Educational Center. She also has five years’ experience as a small business owner and wellness coach. Liz graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Ulster with an AS in business administration and cum laude from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business with a BBA in finance. She is an Ayurvedic practitioner and yoga teacher and the mother of a son born in November 2017.
Ivy Greenstein
Director of Communications and Outreach
Ivy has been directing Sunbridge’s outreach efforts, including communications, marketing, and design, since 2011. Previously, she was the administrative director for Sunbridge College’s Barfield School master’s program and director of outreach and alumni relations at Green Meadow Waldorf School. Her background in non-profit administration also includes serving as an admissions officer at Columbia Law School, publications coordinator at the Detroit Grand Opera Association, and public relations assistant at NYC’s Museum of Contemporary Crafts, as well as sitting on various independent school boards. Ivy, who holds a degree in art history from Kirkland (Hamilton) College, came to Waldorf Education as a parent and is now a proud Waldorf alumni grandparent. A writer and book artist, she loves the creative aspects of her position and is delighted to have the opportunity to promote the mission of Sunbridge Institute.
Jennifer Melendez
Administrative Assistant
Jennifer joined Sunbridge as administrative assistant in 2013. While providing support especially to the outreach, admissions, and development departments, she readily offers assistance to all aspects of Sunbridge’s operations, and we appreciate her expert juggling ability. A graduate of the Katharine Gibbs School, Jennifer was formerly an administrative assistant in the private banking division of JP Morgan Chase. A busy mother of four and a community volunteer, she values her time with family, friends, and pet beagles. Jen enjoys cooking, baking, and gardening and, in the future, would love to learn to play the guitar and to perfect her Spanish.
Sunbridge Board of Trustees
Bernard Weintraub
President
Bern is the President of Sunbridge’s Board, a position he assumed in 2009. An environmental and real estate attorney, he holds degrees from Cornell University (BS in Natural Resource Management and AB in Government) and Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (MES in Environmental Studies), and a JD from New York University School of Law. Bern and his wife have three daughters, all of whom attended Green Meadow Waldorf School.
Betsy Gimenez
Trustee
A Sunbridge Board member since 2013, Betsy is currently a class teacher at the Waldorf School of Princeton; previously, she was a class teacher at the Brooklyn Waldorf School and taught main lessons at area Waldorf schools. A longtime Waldorf educator, with experience as an early childhood educator and an art teacher in addition to class teacher, Betsy’s career includes teaching at the Waldorf School of Baltimore, the Charlottesville Waldorf School, and Camp Hill Special Schools. She served the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America as Leadership Council representative for the Atlantic/Southeast for seven years, and prior to that, served on AWSNA’s Eastern Regional Committee. Betsy did her teacher training studies under Werner Glas at the Waldorf Institute of Detroit.
Niko Hilgerdt
Trustee
A Sunbridge trustee since 2016, Niko joined the Austin Waldorf School in fall 2017 as Pedagogical Leader. Prior, he served two years as Pedagogical Administrator of the Waldorf School of Princeton where he had earlier shepherded a class through seventh and eighth grades. Before that, he taught at a charter school in New Mexico and at the Tacoma Waldorf School. A graduate of Green Meadow Waldorf School, Niko earned his BA at St. John’s College in Maryland and his MA at St. John’s College in New Mexico and did his Waldorf teacher training at Antioch New England; he also studied in Ireland, Japan and the Czech Republic.
Lisa Miccio
Trustee
Lisa, who teaches Sunbridge’s “Introduction to Waldorf Early Childhood Education” Summer Series course, joined the Sunbridge Board in 2013. Lisa has two decades of experience as a Waldorf early childhood educator, first at New York’s Mountain Laurel Waldorf School and Dayspring Community School and then at Green Meadow Waldorf School, where as a member of the early childhood faculty for a dozen years she taught kindergarten and parent and child classes, served as a co-chair of the early childhood section and as the Director of Early Childhood Admissions and Family Programs, and sat on the Collegium, the Collegium Committee, and the Board of Trustees. In summer 2017, Lisa joined the early childhood faculty at The Waldorf School of Garden City, where she currently serves as a kindergarten teacher. While on sabbatical in 2016-17, she taught and mentored in the Kathmandu Waldorf Kindergarten in Nepal and brought Waldorf Education to public school kindergarten teachers in Florence, SC. Lisa holds a BA in English from the College of Charleston, an MS in elementary education from CW Post, Long Island University, and an MS in Waldorf education from Sunbridge College. She is the mother of two Waldorf-educated sons.
Stephen Sagarin
Trustee
Steve joined the Sunbridge Board in 2019. He is a core faculty member of Sunbridge’s Elementary Teacher Education program, for which he has been teaching since 2000, and co-founder and faculty chair at the Berkshire Waldorf High School, where he teaches history and art. He is also a former teacher and administrator at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School and the Waldorf School of Garden City, the high school from which he graduated. Steve, who authored The History of Waldorf Education in the United States: Past, Present and Future and who writes, lectures, mentors teachers, and consults with Waldorf schools worldwide on teaching and administration, also formerly taught history of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and human development at the City University of New York and served as editor of the Research Bulletin of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education. He has a PhD in history from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in art history, with a certificate of proficiency in fine art, from Princeton University.
Anna Silber
Trustee
Anna joined the Sunbridge Board in 2018, having previously served Sunbridge as director of education from 2012-2018. Previously, she taught as a class teacher at Green Meadow Waldorf School for five years and served there as a mentor on the teacher development committee; she also worked with that school’s administrator on curriculum-related projects and offered teacher support. A student of anthroposophy for many years, Anna lectures about Waldorf Education throughout the country and is the originator of Sunbridge’s “Waldorf Weekend” workshops. Prior to her work in Waldorf Education, Anna had a career in commercial real estate finance at JP Morgan Investment Management. She has a bachelor’s degree in geography from UC Berkeley and a master’s in elementary education from Sunbridge College. Anna and her husband are parents of two young daughters, both of whom are Waldorf school students.
