First Grade
Amy Ross, Teacher
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I have been married to my super-supportive husband, Brian, for 24 years. I have two boys, Jack (20) and Xander (17), who both attended Live Oak TK-8. We have a cat (Mochi), a parakeet (Buster), and many fish. I started volunteering in the classroom, at Live Oak, when Jack was in kindergarten. When Xander started kindergarten, I was hired as a classroom assistant and worked in that role for four years before becoming a classroom teacher. This is my ninth year as a classroom teacher at Live Oak Charter School. In my off-time, I most enjoy spending time with my family. When we're together we enjoy trying new restaurants, camping/backpacking, and playing games. In my free time, I love to read, garden, learn new skills, hone my teaching craft, listen to audiobooks and podcasts, walk/hike, and watch Netflix. |
Second Grade
Leah Brosio, Teacher
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Leah Brosio was born in the midwestern United States and grew up in Indiana and Tennessee. As a child she was part of a choir that traveled the UK several times. She went to college in Ohio, majoring in English Language Literature. During college she spent time studying in Ecuador. She began teaching in bilingual schools in Oakland, California in 1993. She completed her M.A. in Education with an emphasis on Waldorf through Touro University in 2009. She has taught in schools all over the Bay Area of California and in all grades k-8 as well as working in adult education throughout her career. She is the mother of two almost grown children; Sage, 22, studies ECE at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Artemis, 18, who is a student at Credo High. She enjoys hiking, camping, travel, being outdoors, people, cooking, and her rescue dog, Frances. |
Third Grade
Lois Wildgrube, Teacher
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Lois grew up outside of Philadelphia. She received her B.A. from Valparaiso University in Indiana and spent a semester studying in Cambridge, England. As a senior, she enjoyed teaching freshmen in the honors program. She continued her study of English Literature at the University of Chicago, where she received her M.A.. She worked in law firms and taught Legal Research and Writing at Sonoma State University and San Francisco State University. She then worked with emotionally disturbed children in residential treatment and taught in a private school for special needs children. When her son was born she opened a family daycare and preschool. Realizing that working with children and teaching gave her the greatest joy she got her credential from San Francisco State University and has taught at Live Oak Charter for 20 years. She has completed the Waldorf teacher training program with the Center for Educational Renewal. She has one son who has a graduate degree in physics and works for a start-up in San Diego, where he loves to surf. She lives with her husband of 40 years and loves to boogie board, hike, bike, read and quilt. |
Fourth Grade
Lissa Ferreira, Teacher
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Hailing from Novato, Lissa was a nationally competitive baton twirler and loved to put on carnivals and plays in her backyard. She majored in Recreation and Theatre at Chico State and earned her MFA in Directing & Teaching at UC Davis. Lissa has directed youth and adult productions throughout the Bay Area for the past 35 years, specializing in physical comedy, musicals and Shakespeare. Having studied classical ballet and jazz dance from age 5 through graduate school, she has choreographed over 250 pieces for the stage. She is also certified in level one stage combat techniques (broadsword, rapier, dagger, quarterstaff, small sword, knives, unarmed) and is a qualified intimacy choreographer and coordinator. She was the first Program Director of the Lucchessi branch of the Boys & Girls Club when it opened in 1992. She served on Social Advocates for Youth, Sonoma County Gang Task Force and is certified in Mental Health for Youth. One of her favorite jobs was as the Recreational Therapy Manager for a Juvenile Delinquent Boys Program. She used her Recreation degree to do event planning for many nonprofits, including Petaluma Downtown Association where she coordinated events such as Butter & Egg Days, Art & Garden Festival, Antique Faires and Holiday Open House. She lives in west Petaluma with her son, Jett, who is a freshman at Credo High School, and her rescue minipin - Bettty White.
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Fifth Grade
Gila Mann, Teacher
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Gila has been involved in Waldorf education for decades, teaching grades 1 through 8 at Waldorf schools in the Bay Area, San Diego, and in Germany. She sat on the board of trustees, served as faculty chair, and spent many summers teaching art and music to adults in Waldorf teacher training programs. At Live Oak, Gila has taught the middle-school loop since 2007. Recently, she joined the grades 4 and 5 loop. Gila holds a California Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential and a M.A. in Education from Touro University, and a B.A. in Psychology from San Francisco State University. She received her Waldorf Education Teaching Credential in Hamburg, Germany. Gila is passionate about Waldorf lesson planning, finding many ways of weaving artistic elements into academic subjects and making the subjects relevant to students. In her spare time, Gila enjoys painting and sculpting, gardening, cooking, traveling, spending time with family, and playing with her cat. |