Faculty & Staff

Michelle Lingo

1st Grade Teacher

Michelle Lingo is our First Grade Teacher for the 2024-25 school year. Michelle has worked with children from age two through high school in many different environments and capacities, but her passion for working with children came to fruition with her experience as a camp counselor and staff member at summer camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene. She has spent many summers nurturing the personal and spiritual growth of children along with the joy and love of the environment and mother earth. She has been expertly described as “bringing a rare mix of kindness and ferocity in what she does, while making sure that the children are at the heart of any decision.” Michelle has attended both North Idaho Community College and Spokane Falls Community College, with an emphasis on Early Childhood Studies as well as Elementary Education. Michelle has participated in the cohort founding Windsong’s grades preparation study program. Born and raised in Spokane and the Pacific Northwest, she is a lover of the outdoors, adventure, and organic gardening. She enjoys hiking with her two dogs and spending time in the woods camping or on the lake canoeing.

Holly Hicks

2nd Grade Teacher
Movement Specialty Teacher

Holly Hicks is our Second Grade Teacher for 2024-25 school year, and teaches Movement for several grades. Holly has a Master’s degree in Waldorf Education from Antioch University and has taught in the Waldorf setting for over nine years. Holly also holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Waldorf Grades teaching certificate.

Eve Bowers

3rd Grade Teacher
Music Specialty Teacher

Eve Bowers is our Third Grade Teacher for the 2024-25 school year and our Music Specialty Teacher. She grew up in rural Oregon and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Portland State University. She discovered Waldorf Education as a student at the University of Oregon from a display of 7th grade lesson pages, and eventually embarked on the journey of Waldorf teacher education, receiving her certificate from Sound Circle Center in Seattle.

Brian Blessing

5th Grade Teacher

Brian Blessing is our Fifth Grade Teacher for the 2024-25 school year. Brian is very proud to have been the Class Teacher for Windsong’s inaugural graduating Class of 2018. He is a graduate of Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in Literature. Brian also holds a graduate degree in Education from Providence College where he earned his public school Teacher Certification in Middle School and High School English Language Arts. Previous to teaching, Brian worked as a commercial fisherman in New England and Alaska, a vocation that funded a decade of extensive travel, during which time he lived in and/or visited 27 different countries and 48 different U.S. States.

Elizabeth Shaw

6th Grade Teacher

Elizabeth “Elsie” Shaw is our Sixth Grade Teacher for the 2024-25 school year. She attended Eastern Washington University where she earned a BA in History and then returned to earn a Master’s in History and a certificate in Gender Studies. While a graduate student, she worked as a Teacher’s Assistant with multi-aged patrons of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. She is currently working on her Waldorf Grades Teacher certification through Sound Circle Center for Arts and Anthroposophy. Her two children attend Windsong as well. Mrs. Shaw enjoys knitting, rewilding her front yard, tending to her chickens, and playing Sequence with her wife.

Marta Matsumoto

8th Grade Teacher

Marta Matsumoto is our Eighth Grade Teacher for the 2024-25 school year. She has many years of experience with Waldorf education and joined the Windsong faculty in 2015.  Mrs. Matsumoto was also a member of the founding cohort of Windsong’s grades preparation study program.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Colorado and cites her previous experiences as an AmeriCorps volunteer, a National Park ranger, a natural history museum educator as well as a math textbook editor as wonderful preparation on her path to teaching at Windsong.

Akiko Melton

Japanese Specialty Teacher

Akiko Melton is our Japanese Specialty Teacher. Akiko was born and raised in a scenic town near Nagasaki City, Japan. She earned her undergraduate education degree from Tachibana University in Kyoto, Japan. She has taught all educational levels: kindergarten through college. She is inspired by how students learn the culture of Japan through the language.

Florencia Saenz

Spanish Specialty Teacher

Florencia Saenz is our Spanish Specialty Teacher. Flor was born and raised in Peru and lived there until 2014 when she and her husband moved to the States to be closer to their children and grandchild. She comes to us with much teaching experience having taught English to children in Peru. As a native Spanish speaker, Flor wants to share the principles of proper Spanish while imparting the beautiful nuances of her language.

Tricia Barry

Handwork Specialty Teacher

Photo & biography coming soon!

Olga Grigoryan

Strings Specialty Teacher

Olga Grigoryan is our Strings Specialty Teacher. She feels privileged to be a part of Waldorf Education. Music means a lot to Olga’s life, and she believes it is one of the ways God uses to communicate with people. She enjoys performing classical and sacred music with various groups, such as duet, piano trio, quartet, chamber orchestra, and symphony orchestra. Olga was born and grew up in Russia. She graduated from Saratov Sobinov Conservatory with a Master’s Degree in Music and Music Education. It is a joy for Olga to share her knowledge and experience with students.

She and her husband have four amazing sons. They spend time together hiking, discovering new places, cooking and baking, reading books, playing various instruments and singing.