Our Team
Our Team of educators and administrators are fiercely dedicated to the education of children in our community. Wild River was born from devoted teachers and parents, and our team is as strong as they come because of it. We would love for you to meet our wonderful team who truly live to their fullest versions of themselves to better serve the children of our region!
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
School Director &
BLACK BEAR CLASS - 1ST Grade
Kathleen Mumaw
Kathleen knew she was born to be an educator. When she was little she would teach her dolls and stuffed toys. Growing older she taught in a different capacity coaching gymnastics for several years throughout middle school, high school, and college. It was only natural to pursue an education degree in college and a master’s degree in education leadership. Twenty-eight years later, Kathleen is still dedicated to education and ready to serve where there is a need. Over those years she taught in public main stream schools, charter schools, and private and charter Waldorf schools.
She has worked with all ages of children from preschool to eighth grade in single grade classes as well as multi-age classrooms. She has been a Waldorf class teacher in both the private sector and in a public Waldorf charter school. Kathleen has most recently served as both a pedagogical director and the head of school at a Waldorf charter school in Grand Junction, Colorado. She is thrilled to have arrived to Truckee and embracing a new community of colleagues and families to continue her work providing Waldorf education to the next generation.
Admissions Manager
Alex Ball
Alexandra Ball is serving the Tahoe Truckee Waldorf community in the role of Admissions and Enrollment Manager after serving a term on the Friends of Tahoe Truckee Waldorf Board. A parent of 3 children from Little Gems of the Sierra Preschool through 4th grade at Wild River School, and herself an alumna of the Seattle Waldorf School, she and her husband Conor believe deeply in the power of a Waldorf education and feel honored to be able to give this education to their own children while bringing the benefits of a Waldorf community to our region as a whole.
Having spent her career in not-for-profit organizations and higher education, most notably in college admissions at the University of San Diego for nearly a decade, Alex feels a deep purpose in and dedication to bringing the TTW community to it’s full potential.
EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS
ASPEN CLASS - TK/K
Soma Miller
Soma Miller is a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher. She guides children through an experiential rhythm of the day, and offers a curriculum that meets the development of children age 4-6. Soma has been an inquisitive student of the Waldorf Pedagogy as well as Biodynamics since 2008. She completed her Waldorf Teacher training summer of 2023, and loves to swim, hike, and wildcraft in the local hills, mountains and riverbanks with her two children. Teaching Kindergarten makes use of her strengths as a homemaker, textile artist, and designer. She is grateful for the opportunity to join the vibrant Wild River community as both a teacher and parent.
ASPEN CLASS - TK/K
Regine Rogers
Regine is a longtime early childhood educator and brings her experience and gentle presence to our TK/ Kinder classrooms at Wild River. You will find her teaching songs in her native German, reading stories, making soup and bread, and being master puppeteer at our community festivals. She loves mountain living and getting outside with her class and her dog!
GRADES TEACHERS
BLACK BEAR CLASS - 1ST GRADE Assistant + Front Desk Admin
Apryl Bracelin
Apryl Bracelin was born and raised in Northern California. She and her husband, Michael, began to raise their two daughters in a small town in the Bay Area. This is where she started working with children in grades K-8. She has 15 years of experience as a Youth Development Professional, Instructional Assistant, and Program Coordinator.
Apryl began to read about Waldorf Education when her youngest daughter was in kindergarten. In 2020, her family learned about a Waldorf school in the remarkable town of Truckee, which helped assist in the decision to move their family to the Mountains.
Her daughters started their beautiful Waldorf education in 1st and 5th grade. Apryl realized she also wanted to be a part of the school and teach this amazing group of children. She then began as a Kindergarten Assistant for what is now Wild River, and has loved every aspect of it. She enjoys cooking, exploring the outdoors with her family and two dogs, doing arts and crafts with her children, and continuing to grow and learn more about the Truckee community.
FLYING SQUIRREL CLASS
4TH/5TH GRADE
Nick Santamaria
Nick Santamaria was born and raised in Truckee. Even while attending College he preferred to spend the majority of his time in the mountains, and as an adult has made Truckee his home with his wife, two boys, and abundance of pets.
His passion for education has always been based on a love of exploration and curiosity, and ultimately the personal relationships forged through the process of learning. He brings dedication, enthusiasm, humor, and a love for our natural environment with him every day. Nick has taught and coached in a number of different educational environments and is excited to work with the Team and community of Wild River.
BOBCAT CLASS - 2ND/3RD GRADE
Madison Conarro
Maddie is originally from a small mountain town west of Colorado Springs called Manitou Springs. After she finished her undergraduate degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University, she moved to Truckee to work for the local trail crew. She quickly fell in love with Truckee-Tahoe and knew it was where she wanted to put down roots.
She has spent time working in educational settings, from tutoring high school math, leading bug camps with young children to teaching ecology to blind and disabled students. She knew that teaching was a passion of hers.
To formalize her teaching experience, Maddie moved to McCall, Idaho, where she earned her Master's degree in Environmental Education and Science Communication. After many hours of teaching in the sunshine and the chilly winter, she left Idaho with a new degree. She believes it is her duty as a teacher to ignite a love for learning and insatiable curiosity in students.
DRAGONFLY CLASS - 6TH GRADE
Loren Trux
​Loren Trux currently teaches sixth grade at Wild River and has experience teaching middle and high school mathematics and science, as well as other elementary grades. A graduate of California State University, Chico, and trained in Waldorf education at Rudolf Steiner College, Loren brings both academic expertise and his Waldorf practice to the classroom and the community.
Outside of teaching, Loren is an accomplished blacksmith, a craft that embodies the hands-on, experiential learning approach that informs our educational philosophy. This unique combination of traditional teaching and artisan craftsmanship helps Loren inspire students to explore STEM and skills subjects with curiosity and modeling.
SINGLE-SUBJECT SPECIALTY TEACHERS
HANDWORK / WOODWORK
Kate Panawek
Kate, a native of California, grew up exploring the Tahoe mountains and settled in Truckee in 2010. She discovered Waldorf education while searching for a preschool for her oldest son, seeking a program that fostered individuality, imaginative play, and a strong rhythm of life.
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Kate's love of crafting with her hands has led her to bring her passion to life in the classroom, where she teaches knitting, crochet, sewing, cross-stitch, and woodworking.
She holds a BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley and a Master's in Regional Planning from the University of Cincinnati. Kate was a founding board member and served as the Director of Finance and Operations at Tahoe Truckee Waldorf. She has over 20 years of experience in strategy, planning, and organizational structuring, having also managed an international design firm in Dubai, Singapore, and the Bay Area.​
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Outside school, Kate enjoys backpacking, skiing, traveling, and spending quality time with her family.
SPANISH LANGUAGE
Gio Ortega
Giovanni Ortega was born and raised in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. At the age of 18, he moved to Mexico in the beautiful "Altas Montañas" in Veracruz and fell in love with nature: from the snowy mountains in the USA to the sugar cane fields in Mexico. He studied Tourism and hospitality at the "Universidad Tenológica del Centro de Veracruz', receiving a Bachelor's degree.
Giovanni has 10 years of experience working with youth.
He has enjoyed being an English teacher in Mexico and as a camp counselor for summer camps, sharing his passion and love for nature with kids.
Now he enjoys sharing Mexican Culture and Spanish with our Wild River community.
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MOVEMENT + GAMES
JAIMEE BALDWIN
Bio coming soon.
VIOLIN
Julie Mellon
Julie is a professional violinist, and teacher based in Truckee.
She started playing the violin at age 4 and later earned her Bachelor's of Music in violin performance, with an emphasis in Suzuki pedagogy, at the Hartt School of Music, where she studied with Linda Fiore.
Julie plays classical vioin with the String Beings and Trio Viva, as well as rock, jazz, and fiddle in the southern rock band Southern Comfort, often sharing guitar leads on electric fiddle. She’s also first violin in the swing band Sven and the Masterful Orchestra.
She brings her expertise and mastery to the children of Wild River many times a week, and with a string academy after school.