Administration
Nicole Van Zandt
Business Manager. Nicole holds a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from the University of Connecticut, with a concentration in Irish Literature. She served as an adjunct instructor at Purdue University, taught English at the Hopkins School in New Haven, CT, then worked as an editor at Redspring Communications/McMurry Inc. in Saratoga. She stayed home for ten years with her children and helped her husband manage their rental property business before embarking on a new career in 2020 with the Waldorf School. She has three children, two of whom currently attend Waldorf and all three of whom went to Waldorf preschool.
Katie Bennett
Katie holds a BA in English from Skidmore College and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Rutgers University-Camden. Before moving back to Saratoga Springs, she lived in Philadelphia, where she worked in several schools as a teacher and an ESL instructor and played in many bands.
Elisabeth Garofalo
Admissions Coordinator. Elisabeth received a BA in psychology and sociology from the University of Connecticut. She worked as a development editor in the publishing industry for over 20 years with a specific focus on nursing and medical textbooks. Elisabeth and her husband Greg have been Waldorf parents for 10 years and their daughter is in the class of 2023. Elisabeth joined the Waldorf staff in 2012.
Dr. Carolyn Karlson
Guidance. Carolyn Karlson is a retired professor, having spent most of her career at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN and the University of Maryland College Park, where she remains on the Board of Trustees. Primarily a professor of entrepreneurship and communication, she also served as graduate school Dean and Associate Vice President at College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, an MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, a BA from Simmons College, and a graduate certificate in college counseling from UCLA. She is founder and president of Starting Gate College Consulting and joined WSSS in 2017.
Lauren Neulander
Registrar. Lauren earned a B.S. in Environmental Forest Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2005. She worked for the NYS Department of Health from 2006-2011 as a research scientist. In 2011, she helped launch Advanced Environmental Geology, LLC, an environmental and geologic consulting firm in Clifton Park and worked there until 2018. She has also worked at the Saratoga Springs Farmer's Market and has been a Waldorf parent since 2014.
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Abigail Reid
Abigail is the Adminstrator of the Waldorf School, and has served in many roles since the founding of the school. She holds a BA from Skidmore College and her teacher training certificate from Antioch Univerity (2001). She is also level 3 certified in Spacial Dynamics. Her work at the school as a nursery school assistant and kindergarten teacher began when the school opened in in 1981/82. Having raised her own family, she rejoined the faculty as a class teacher in 1999 and took one class through 8th grade and two other classes partway through the lower school. In 2014, she became Faculty Chair where her primary role was to support students, mentor faculty, and work with parent questions. And in 2019, she stepped in the Adminstrator’s position. Both of her children graduated from our school - Leif in 2002 and Nora in 2005.