From Helen-Ann Ireland, Chair, &
John Bloom, General Secretary & President

May 13, 2021

Dear Members and Friends of the Anthroposophical Society in America,

We are writing to let you know about an important transition on the Leadership Team of the Society. Laura Scappaticci is stepping back as Director of Programs. For any of you who have participated in the amazing offerings provided by and through the Society, you will recognize what Laura has accomplished during her five years of service. During her tenure, she initiated the Sacred Gateway conferences, numerous webinars along with an accompanying library of resources, Applied Anthroposophy an innovative year-long course of study, and founded The Anthroposopher a podcast including now nearly thirty episodes. All of these not only serve the Society in the US, but also worldwide. She has fostered engagement on many levels, overcome pandemic distance, and has transformed our Annual General Meeting into a festival of learning.  By her own account, she will remain passionately committed to fostering anthroposophy in one way or another, and she will continue to support the amazing programs she has built with Tess Parker over the last few years.

The Leadership Team and Council are working to support her transition and to continue the impulses she has brought. Almost anyone who has worked with her has been touched by her energy and enthusiasm, both of which will benefit her family and whatever her next vocational adventure turns out to be.

We close with appreciation and encourage you to read her own words.

Sincerely,

Helen-Ann Ireland, Chair, &
John Bloom, General Secretary & President

Anthroposophical Society in America

Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues,

When I began my work with the ASA in October 2016, I was graciously afforded the opportunity to make a wish--a destiny wish--come true.

My first deep connection with anthroposophy began in a small study group in Pennsylvania. We were a group of five families, all with children under six. We hired a babysitter once a month for three hours while our group leader guided us through How To Know Higher Worlds. At the end of our study time, all ten children would pour back into the study space and we would share a potluck lunch.

A deep wish was born in me at that time. A wish to make anthroposophy available to anyone who wanted to work with it.  Warmth, open-mindedness, and accessibility were at the core of this wish. Little did I know what beauty and community would come towards me just four years later in the form of my work with the ASA. 

During that first year in my position, so many of you shared your ideas, enthusiasm, concerns, connections, and creativity with me, and you have continued to do so throughout my tenure. Now in 2021, this community has risen up in a profound and robust way.  I’ve witnessed us meet each other through challenges, across miles, past the veil of Zoom, connecting with love through our thinking hearts.

I continue to learn from all of you. This learning happens during the deep reflections in General Council meetings, the depth of sharing in Applied Anthroposophy, through the wisdom of our webinar presenters, and the camaraderie with my colleagues and each of you. 

My position as the Director of Programs has been a position of the heart. It has been nothing less than a true vocation.  And now a new chapter is beginning. Though I am not sure of where the journey will take me in my career life, I know that my mission is still the same--make anthroposophy available.  My deepest gratitude to those who saw this spark in me and allowed me to try something new along with all of you. And many thanks to those of you who create and share sparks of deep meaning and spiritual sustenance in your communities across the country and the world.