Introducting:
Conference Contributors and Presenters 

We have the great pleasure of working with my dynamic, engaged contributors and presenters who will be giving lectures, leading workshops, and offering presentations. We hope you are able to join us!

Stay tuned for more updates and biographies!

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Shannon Boyce is an experienced voice teacher with over 20 years of experience helping singers uncover the mysteries of their voices. She believes that the voice is not just a tool for singing but also a powerful instrument for personal growth and self-development. At the heart of Shannon’s teaching is the understanding that the voice is a gateway to the soul. Her approach, deeply rooted in the principles of Valborg Werbeck-Svärdström's School of Uncovering the Voice, guides individuals on a transformative journey to reclaim and trust their voice, which in turn helps them trust themselves. Her teachings are transformative yet supportive, and her ability to connect with singers on a deep intuitive level helps those who work with her discover the true power of their voice and use it to transform their lives.

Christine Burke met anthroposophy in 1997 and immediately signed up for the Rudolf Steiner College San Francisco Waldorf Teacher Training. During a rich and art infused training, she met the anthroposophical speech arts. In 2001, Christine embarked on the 4 year, full-time Speech training in England. Before meeting anthroposophy, Christine completed an associate’s degree in Literature and a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics. After the Speech training, Christine earned a master’s degree in Communication Studies. In retrospect, a clear path of the Word – or to the Word – has been her life’s companion, along with a healthy dose of finding and creating community. Christine now teaches Communication Studies part time at her local Community College and teaches Sacred Speech Work in workshops around the globe, with private students, and at Kairos Institute.

Born in 1956 in Brig Switzerland, Marc Desaules is a physicist and entrepreneur,  and father of three, who now lives with his wife in Montezillon near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. In 1979, he founded L'Aubier, an eco-hotel and event space with its own biodynamic farm, cheese dairy, organic store, restaurant, and intergenerational eco-housing. L’Aubier hosts many groups each year for seminars, conferences, and trainings for young people.  Today, he is responsible for the center’s  finances and real estate. Marc is also the co-founder of CoOpera, a pension fund for companies, and was a longtime member of their board of trustees. Marc joined the Board of the Anthroposophical Society in Switzerland in 1994 and currently serves as treasurer and General Secretary.

Patricia Dickson is a Sculptor with an M.A. in Art and Psychology. She is a Visual Art Section representative to the Collegium of the School of Spiritual Science. Patricia was Emeritus of Visual Arts at Rudolf Steiner College, where she taught for 25 years as an art faculty member. She is also the Founder and Administrator of the Waldorf Subject Teacher Programs in Handwork and Foreign Language and Co-founder Coros Institute. 
Patricia holds Goetheanum Certificates in the Visual Arts and in part-time studies in Anthroposophy and certificates in the Art of Ikebana, and Tea Ceremony from Japan. 

Herbert Hagens serves as co-chair of the Circle of Class Holders in North America.  His career in teaching and lecturing includes conducting seminars in the Anthroposophical Studies Program at the Goetheanum. Herbert focuses his research in particular on Rudolf Steiner's Mystery Dramas and the Calendar of the Soul.  He lives with his wife Adelaide in Princeton, New Jersey.

Valerie Hope has been a member of the Portland Branch Council since 2010, and served as editor of the Branch newsletter from 2012 to 6/24, with a brief editorial hiatus at one point. Her love of the festivals and following the cycle of the year has only grown over the years. Her research project for some decades has been exploring and experiencing the necessity of blessing our food. For most of her adult life she has been involved with community organizing activities in various forms, helping to found new organizations.  Valerie was employed during her 20’s by the Portland Planning Bureau, and later the State Department of Environmental Quality.  Back then organized public participation in governmental agency planning and decision making was a very new idea.  Until then ‘blue ribbon’ groups representing powerful interests were the norm.  In 1986 she enrolled her  4-year-old son in the Portland Waldorf School, and became the  president of the school’s first Parent Council.  A second son was soon also enrolled.  Later she was hired in the position of outreach and enrollment staff. Over some 10 years Valerie was a member of a US and Canadian 7- person team, the Lemnis Group, which held regional conferences for Waldorf School faculty, administrators and parents as the schools (often painfully) worked to develop approaches to needed administrative functions.  In 1999 Valerie graduated from Marylhurst University with a degree in communication, which included conflict resolution, mediation, and group development, which became her new profession

Michael Hughes is trained with diplomas in artistic, pedagogical and therapeutic eurythmy. His primary eurythmy diploma comes from the Camphill Eurythmy School in England where he worked in communities caring for people with special needs. He has performed and taught all ages in both Europe and many parts of the US. He moved to Maui in 2006, teaching children at Haleakala Waldorf school,as well as adults in the AWE (Adult Waldorf Education) program. Michael has special joy in bringing Eurythmy and all work arising out of Anthroposophy to those working on behalf of future generations. Michael currently serves as Chairperson for the Anthroposophical Society in Hawai’i

Helena Hurrell is the director of the Helios Center, is trained in Metal Color Light Glass Therapy from the Lichtblick Atelier in Schwörstadt, Germany, and received a certificate approved by the Medical Section at the Goetheanum in 2013. She has also completed a master’s level therapeutic training at the Tobias School of Art and Therapy in the UK and is currently providing anthroposophic art and metal color light therapy to children and adults in Carbondale, Colorado. Helena has been working therapeutically with individuals and groups in the UK, Australia, and the USA since 1981.

Robert Karp, aka Robert Karbelnikoff, is a long-time leader in the sustainable agriculture movement and is the former executive director of the Biodynamic Association in the US and of Practical Farmers of Iowa. Robert has been a student of anthroposophy for over 40 years and gives frequent talks and workshops on social threefolding, earth healing, spiritual geography and esoteric Christianity.  Together with Mark McGivern and Barbarah Nicoll he is the co-founder of the Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project. You can learn more about Robert and find many of his writings on his website at www.robertkarp.net

Timothy Kennedy has been a part of anthroposophical communities throughout his life. He has sought to find an Anthroposophy of the will, and through steady practice, and a lot of grace, he is finding balance in his inner and outer work. He has led the largest natural building and design company in the US for 24 years, administrates the global Natural Building Network online, and has been in development on a 700 acre project integrating regenerative farming, ecological restoration, and healthy housing for 100+ humans. He recently joined the Western Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America in hopes of furthering the life of Anthroposophia in the West.

Micky Leach was first introduced to Anthroposophy as a college student in 1980, and has been active in the Anthroposophical Society and its initiatives for the past 40 years. She is a member of the School for Spiritual Science, the Western Regional Council and a former member of the General Council. In the late 1980's she was a founding  Board Member of the City of Lakes Waldorf school in Minneapolis, MN. After her move to Santa Fe, NM was twice asked to serve as a Trustee for the Santa Fe Waldorf School. Micky has  a deep love of history and for many years she has intensively studied the origins of the United States.Through this study and research, she holds a deep appreciation for the Native American Culture and its understanding of the individual and community that deeply informed those who founded this country.

Marke Levene is a Eurythmist and actor, former president of the Eurythmy Association of North America, current member of the Council of Anthroposophical Organizations, and creator of the children's products company Enchantmints. He also created the theater company, Portal Productions, that toured Rudolf Steiner's Mystery Dramas in English and whose initiative through Lemniscate Arts was behind the New World Symphony tour in 2005/6.

Speech artist Helen Lubin has been engaged with Waldorf schools, adult education, and therapeutic speech arts for over 38 years. She founded Speech Arts in Waldorf Schools in North America to further this integral component of Waldorf education. With this project now in its 31st year, Helen has supported some 55 North American Waldorf schools, many annually, over some 250 'speech visits', working with classes, teachers, individual students, administrators, office staff, and parents. 
Helen is a co-founder/faculty of the Steiner School of Speech Arts. She holds bachelor's degrees in special educational studies, and in speech pathology and audiology, and a master's degree in human development. She completed the Camphill Seminar in Curative Education and has ten years’ experience in this field. Helen has played the role of Maria in Rudolf Steiner’s four mystery dramas; and is a freelance editor and translator.

Tess Parker is the Director of Programs for the Anthroposophical Society in America, and has been committed to discovery through anthroposphy for over a decade. Prior to becoming director, she spent years tending to and stewarding the earth as co-founder of Common Hands Farm, an upstate New York biodynamic farm. She was also the outdoor education teacher and camp director at Pasadena Waldorf School. Tess is a student and collaborator with the elemental kingdom and finds fulfillment and purpose through creating medicines, art, and ritual with plants. As an avid astrologer, she finds time on weekends to read and interpret birth charts for anyone seeking to understand their own individual cosmic blueprint that accompanies them through their life. You can reach out to her at tess@anthroposophy.org.

Kathy Rem has been a member of the Anthroposophical Society since 1987. Having been introduced to Waldorf Education, Kathy emersed herself is studying anthroposophy and serving in the creation of the Waldorf School of Santa Barbara. Kathy became a long-held board member for many years. She worked in her own full charge bookkeeping business and managed a construction company for most of her adult career until retiring in 2020. Kathy and her husband always dreamed of retiring in the beautiful Pacific Northwest area and so migrated from southern California after both her children and grandchildren were drawn to area first. She immediately joined the Portland Branch of the Anthroposophical Society and soon became a council member. Now her time is spent helping to organize events at the branch and spending time with grandchildren.

Walter Rice and his wife, Susan, discovered anthroposophy in the early ‘90s when a small group of parents were looking into Waldorf education for our children in Northern California. Inspired by Nancy Poer, Rene Querido and other teachers at Rudolf Steiner College, Walter became a co-founder of the Sierra Waldorf School. Following his Waldorf teacher training and a few years of teaching at Davis Waldorf School, Walter returned to work in the travel industry, creating a Waldorf Travel Service—to try to serve our worldwide community. Susan became an early childhood teacher for more than 20 years and recently retired. Walter and Susan moved to the Portland area to support their daughter and grandchildren. Walter has been on the boards of two Waldorf schools and a council member of Portland’s ASA branch since 2005. Walter looks forward to seeing old friends from all over at this gathering, as well as the chance to make new ones!

Mary Stewart Adams has been General Secretary and President of the Anthroposophical Society in America since autumn, 2023.  She serves as a spokesperson for the Society and country representative in the international movement. For over twenty years, under the title of Star Lore Historian, Mary has worked as a dark skies advocate, to raise awareness about the effects of light pollution and to make known the mysteries of the starry skies from environmental, cultural, and anthroposophical perspectives. She first encountered the work of Rudolf Steiner at the age 18 in 1981, and met Hazel Straker, a pioneer in astrosophy, in 1996. These two destiny moments have shaped much of her life path, which, together with her education in literary arts, continue to inspire her work and research. She joined the School for Spiritual Science in 2000.

Born in Los Angeles, Ezra Sullivan moved to South America after high school to initiate an inquiry into the life and being of man and nature with meditation and agriculture. In Latin America, Rudolf Steiner’s ideas quickly reached Ezra through the Biodynamic work. Upon returning to the United States three years later, Ezra orientated his spiritual life completely toward Anthroposophy. The following nine years were focused mainly in the Pacific Northwest on regenerative biodynamic agriculture, nonprofit leadership, the intentional communities movement, and non-violent activism. In 2022, Ezra studied at the Goetheanum in Switzerland. His focus now lies primarily in the social realm including adult engagement in Anthroposophy and renewing organizations. In 2024, Ezra moved to Threefold Community in New York.

Laura Summer is co-founder of Free Columbia, an arts initiative that includes programs based on the fundamentals of painting as they come to life through spiritual science. It is completely grass roots donation supported and has no set tuitions. Her approach to color is influenced by Beppe Assenza, Rudolf Steiner, and by Goethe’s color theory. She has been teaching and working with questions of color and contemporary art for 33 years. Her work, to be found in private collections in the US and Europe, has been exhibited at the National Museum of Catholic Art and History in New York City and at the Sekem Community in Egypt. She has published twelve books. She founded two temporary alternative exhibition spaces in Hudson NY and initiated ART DISPERSAL 2012-24 where over 800 pieces of art by professional artists have been dispersed to the public without set prices. She is the acting director of Lightforms Art Center in Hudson, NY. Laura teaches online and in-person courses on color and anthroposophy. Her work can be found here: laurasummer.com

Beatrice Voigt has performed and taught artistic speech and drama across North America and Europe, appearing with the Spring Valley Mystery Drama Group, Eurythmy Witten Annen, The Harlotry Players, Hostia and most recently with Ink-Pot Arts. She graduated from The School of Speech and Drama at the Goetheanum, Switzerland and came to the United States to study the Michael Chekhov acting technique. Beatrice is currently a member of the Detroit Waldorf School faculty and she serves on the council for Anthroposophic Speech Arts in North America. 

Miriam Cosentino Ward studied nursing at the first anthroposophical hospital in Germany to offer a nursing degree and then went on to study speech and drama in Switzerland at the Marie Steiner School. Returning to the United States she worked at Raphael Association in California for four years before moving to Camphill School in Pennsylvania, where she was part of the community for 20 years. Having obtained her BSN, she worked as a school nurse in the public school system for over a decade. She is presently retired and lives outside of Portland, Oregon.

Performances and Exhibitions:
Performances by Portland Eurythmy and The Bay Area Eurythmy Ensemble

The Bay Area Eurythmy Ensemble BAEE was founded in 2016 and is a group of eurythmy teachers located around San Francisco. We have been focused on offering performances to students at local Waldorf Schools and occasionally branches of the ASA to allow for an experience of artistic eurythmy in our region. This year’s offerings are for the first time more oriented toward an exclusively adult audience. Our current inspiration is the Michael Imagination and the Rudolf Steiner’s last address. Our current ensemble is: Michaela Bergmann, Lilith Dupuis, Sebastien Dupuis, Isabela Guardia, Karen Gallagher, Monika Leitz and Barbara Neumann joined by our speaker Jeremiah Turner.

Portland Eurythmy is the collaborative effort of six local eurythmists, a pianist and a speaker who have come together to create performances through the art of eurythmy, a gestural language that brings a living expression to sound and tone and fills the dynamic space between performers and audience.

Check out the program for "Earth: This Being Human" - the Saturday evening performance by Portland Eurythymy 

The Sacred Drama of Eleusis with speech artists Christine Burke, Beatrice Voigt, and Marke Levene  

Exhibits:
An Art Dispersal, offered by Patricia Lynch, and Laura Summer from Free Columbia, is an event where we hang up original works of art and invite people to become their stewards. They can take a piece home, keep it for as long as they like, as well as return it to the artist if they no longer want to keep it. Stewards are offered an opportunity to make a contribution to Free Columbia. Contributions support the artists as well as Free Columbia.
Free Columbia has run 20 Art Dispersals over the past 10 years, with over 800 paintings (as well as other works of art) dispersed to stewards in Hudson, Philmont, Spring Valley, and Manhattan, NY; Eugene and Portland, OR; Los Angeles, CA; New Orleans, LA; and Jarna, Sweden. In 2020 we held our first online art dispersal in collaboration with the Anthroposophical Society in North America.

The Foundation Stone, beautifully handcrafted by Rik ten Cate in honor of the centenary of the Christmas Conference. This copper double dodecahedron is on a world tour and we are pleased to announce that it will be on display at our annual conference in Portland, OR. 

Helena Hurrell will bring Metal Color Light Therapy panals to the conference. Learn more about her work HERE.
Pictured: Marianne Altmaier, the founder of this form of therapy, with glass panels.