Faculty

Jo was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She received her education at University of Arizona, Brigham Young University and Utah State University. Jo holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and a B.A. in Special Education Certificates in Early Childhood Education and Waldorf Education. She has had thirty one years of teaching experience, including positions at elementary schools, high schools, and Waldorf Schools. Jo has a happy family that includes 12 children and 44 grandchildren, with two more on the way! Her keen interests are in reading, storytelling, art, handwork, nature, hiking and bird-watching. Jo loves children and truly believes that education is the most important work of all.  To Jo, there is nothing more rewarding or satisfying. Jo believes Waldorf education provides a much-needed alternative to traditional schooling and she is thrilled to be a part of bringing it to more Utah families!

Maggie Orr was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. She graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 2015 before moving to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. Maggie recently graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). During her senior year, she served as an intern teaching third grade at Art City Elementary in Springville, Utah. She is really excited about the opportunity to teach first grade! Aside from teaching and learning, Maggie enjoys art and making crafts. Finding ways to express her creativity is her favorite thing to do! She loves sweet treats, so baking is one of her favorite hobbies. She is a huge animal person, with cats and llamas being her favorites. Her family has three rescue cats named Gertie, Lucy, and Augusta. Maggie is passionate about Waldorf pedagogy and is so excited to help further Mountain Sunrise Academy’s mission.

Becky is so excited to be a kindergarten teacher at Mountain Sunrise Academy! She has in early childhood education for over 10 years. During this time, she has had the privilege of serving a wide variety of children and families. Becky holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and recently graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marriage and Family Studies. Becky believes strongly in educating the whole child through developmentally appropriate curriculum that includes discovery and play. She also feel passionate about strengthening families and family well-being. Becky is aCalifornia native with a love for the ocean. She grew up camping at the beach and swimming in her pool. Becky recently moved to Utah to be closer to her family. Becky and her husband are high school sweethearts with 3 children, 2 children-in-laws, and 1 grandson. Becky loves scuba diving, camping, and most anything out in nature. She also enjoys cake decorating, eating whole foods, traveling, making jewelry, watching movies, and Disneyland.

Kenna knew she wanted to be a teacher from the time she was a child growing up in central Florida. At age 18, she moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University and fell in love with the turning of the seasons here (something beautiful Florida doesn’t offer much of!). A few years later, she received a Master of Education from the University of Utah. She spent many of her teaching years in dual-language classrooms where song, drama, movement and visual arts are essential! 

Kenna finds peace in nature, strength in yoga, refuge in the mountains, and connection through meditation. She is also passionate about parenting and teaching with the premise that the first step to connection with a child is to accept them as is. It is this acceptance that will allow the child to fly free. Kenna is excited to bring the benefits of these practices along with over a decade of teaching experience to Mountain Sunrise Academy! 

Hello, I am Mrs. Brighton.  I am a former PTA President from a Montessori school in Kansas City.  So, I embrace the philosophy of educating the whole child.  I have been teaching for three years and I have a Masters degree in Instructional Technology from Utah State University and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the USU as well. This is my first year teaching at a Mountain Sunrise Academy.

I believe that a child should be free to express himself or herself and should always feel like learning is a new and fun adventure each day. It is important to shape their minds, hearts and hands with positive healthy responses that will guide and inspire. I am excited to join with the faculty, parents and administration in creating a place where students can learn, grow and become great citizens of humanity.

Catherine Wickham received a BS of Elementary Education from the University of Utah. She is a level 2 teacher that has spent many years educating children including 5 years as a third grade teacher. Prior to this she worked as a 7^th grade math aid and a math tutor. She knows that learning is the natural result of doing.  For this reason she creates educational materials that cause students to look for patterns, make connections, and delve deeper.

Some of her favorite teaching moments are with her family. She and her husband are the proud parents of eight wonderful children.  They enjoy reading together, going on outings, and spending time outdoors. 
A few of her children’s accomplishments include DECA and FBLA state championships.  Catherine is proudest of her family when they work hard to overcome a challenge.

            “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”-- (Benjamin Franklin)

Mrs. Stacy Wicks is so excited and honored to be a part of Mountain Sunrise Academy. Stacy has her bachelor's degree in psychology and is getting her Masters Degree in Elementary Education. She has taught at an array of schools and subjects from severe special education to gifted and talented, ages 3 to 21. She loves teaching and sharing her knowledge with the students. Stacy was born and raised in Utah, and has been happily married to her husband Paul for 17 years. She has 4 amazing children, 2 crazy dogs, 3 even crazier cats, 2 birds, and 2 gerbils. She loves the outdoors and being close to nature. She loves crafts, hiking, camping, singing, and being with her family. When she discovered Waldorf, she was so impressed because it was finally a way to teach implementing all her favorite things and ideas about education. She is so excited for the school year and all its great opportunities.  

 Charlene Johnson has been a teacher for 8 years. Charlene holds three Bachelor of Arts Degrees (Education, Special Education, and Business Administration). She also has a Masters in Education, with an emphasis on how movement impacts learning. Charlene has taught students K-12th grade in a wide range of subjects including, math, language, science, business and many other areas. She believes each student brings a unique gift to the world that only they can impart and that it is a teacher's job to create an environment that motivates each student's desire to learn.

     Charlene lives in Herriman, Utah with her husband, five ducks, four chickens, three rabbits, two cats, one dog and a soon to be baby goat. She loves to garden, cook, can, sew, quilt, embroidery, and crochet. Her desire to always learn began at age three in an art class in Logan, Utah.

     Charlene is elated to be part of the Mountain Sunrise Academy team. She looks forward to helping each student to reach new heights and to inspiring them to be life-long learners and contributors in our global community.

Sarai is a recent graduate of Utah Valley University with a BS in Philosophy. She grew up in sunny Southern California, and though she misses the coastline, she loves Utah's autumn. She is familiar with Waldorf teachings and practices, having graduated 8th grade at the Waldorf School of Orange County as a child, and attending the high school there. She is passionate about education, critical thinking, interfaith work, and good food. She lives in Vineyard with her husband, Joe and sweet son, Forrest.

She loves being outdoors in nature, whether it is hiking to a sunlit waterfall or gliding through a snowy mountain vista. She has a passion for photography and finds joy in capturing little details or special moments that make life beautiful.  She also loves creating arts and crafts, traveling, music festivals, birding, and being a cat-mom to her two fur babies.

Janae believe that students learn best when they are offered a tactile and enriching learning environment.  She strives to understand each student's needs and concerns and let them shine in their individuality and talents. She is excited to be a teacher at Mountain Sunrise Academy!  

Miss Carol Ann Gregory was born and raised in the tree-covered hills of the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks. Craft Fairs, Bluegrass Festivals, Family Vacations Road-Trips, and Camping (in tents) are some of her favorite childhood memories. She attended College of the Ozarks near Branson, Missouri and started her teaching career in a local school after graduating with a B.S. in Speech/Theater Secondary Education. Carol moved to Utah in 2012, and has worked in a variety of school settings including both charter and public schools. She is currently attending BYU for a Master's degree in Educational Leadership Foundations in Policy Studies and School Administration.

Miss Gregory lives in Provo, Utah with her Noweigen Forest Cat, Nairobi. Her hobbies include crafting, home repairs, reading and writing (especially poetry), and learning new things. She is passionate about guiding people to improve and reach their fullest potential. If she had to describe herself in one-word, the top three on the list are Creator, Mother, Teacher.

Chalice Maddox loves teaching, is an avid hat wearer, and once published a book. She has taught 6th grade for 4 years, 4th grade for 1, and is excited to begin her journey at Mountain Sunrise Academy. Her book is titled "The Point of Magic". In her spare time she attends a writing group and goes on impromptu road trips (this is how she found the ghost town Dragon).

Mrs. McDonald is honored to be part of Mountain Sunrise Academy. She loves ancient literature, poetry, and all of the fine and performing arts. Her love of Waldorf education began at Brigham Young University. At BYU, Mrs. McDonald read about Agency Education and she discovered that the only schools in existence that practiced this type of education were the Waldorf schools. She resonated, in particular, with Rudolf Steiner's philosophical base of understanding that the child comes to us, not as a blank slate, but with an individual mission to perform in the world. It is her hope to allow the light within each student to shine during this school year.

Amanda is an educator, storyteller, friend, and she loves sharing interesting things about the world.  She is honored to be able to help young people discover how brilliant they truly are. She comes from a family of teachers, artists, creators, travelers, and ambassadors of nature. Her three children (25, 24, and 12) have been her greatest accolades and motivation for learning how to holistically teach the whole child. 

She I recently relocated from AZ where she graduated with honors from Arizona State University and earned a dual certification BA in Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education (K-12.)  Amanda is absolutely fascinated by intuitive math and natural sciences; she holds certifications in Vedic Mathematics, and Sustainability and Ecological Literacy. Outside of school she delights in gardening, camping, and playing board games. 

Amanda's teaching philosophy is that every student can learn, and it is our job as mentors to help them find the way that makes the most sense for them. Her joy truly is found when a student realizes they are capable, confident, and creative. She believes learning should be a holistic experience. By accepting and embracing this philosophy, she has learned some of her greatest life lessons and watched students blossom into empathetic, patient, kind peer-teachers, and reciprocal learners. 

Hannah was born in Arlington, Virginia and grew up in Orange County, California. She is the oldest of five kids with three sisters, and a little brother, Asher, who is a student here at Mountain Sunrise! Her family was blessed to be a part of the Waldorf School of Orange County community for 10 years, where Hannah was lovingly schooled in her upper elementary and middle school years and expanded and deepened wisdom and understanding. She attended and engaged in countless festivals and plays and explored meaningful learning in broad and beautiful ways; art, music, literature, math, history, science, and so many things coming alive as they became a part of her (both in her own studies, and observing and participating in the schooling of her younger siblings, and being a part of a tight-knit community). She has always loved learning, but Waldorf helped her to find deeper connections between different subjects through arts and culture and rich study of every kind. She is so grateful to have been able to receive such a well-rounded whole-child education. She is so happy that there is now a Waldorf-inspired school close to her home in Utah! She has been following the Mountain Sunrise journey from the very beginning, and it is exciting to see dreams become a reality!

Hannah received her Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in Humanities, with an emphasis in Art History. She loved continuing her passion for the arts that was gained through her Waldorf experience through diligent and in-depth exploration. She is also a lover of languages! She began learning Spanish and Japanese in Waldorf and continued her study of Spanish through college, obtaining an Advanced Level Language certificate in speaking and writing.

After graduating, Hannah had the opportunity to serve a church mission to Japan. She was able to use both Japanese and Spanish while there to teach and communicate with native Japanese and many immigrants she met from Spanish-speaking countries, such as Peru and Argentina. Since returning home, she has worked primarily in education. She was a substitute teacher in grades PreK-12, including Special Ed, for a year in schools throughout the Alpine School District. Then, she became a Special Ed paraprofessional at Spectrum Charter in Pleasant Grove. She assisted in the art, cooking, Japanese, and transition planning classes. She soon began teaching Japanese 1 and 2, then expanding to Spanish 1 and 2 classes. More recently, she also had the opportunity to teach beginning Japanese to adults through UVU.  Hannah is thrilled to now be able to instruct and inspire the amazing Meadowlark class!