Our Administrative Staff

The Orchard Valley administrative team oversees and manages the daily business of the school so students can learn, teachers can teach, and parents and board members can rely on a well-functioning school. This daily business includes: recruiting and admitting new students, handling tuition and fees, facility management, fundraising, building community awareness, addressing concerns and carrying out the administrative policies and decisions made by the Faculty and Board of Trustees.

MADELIEF WELTERS
Administrative Director

Madelief was raised in a home where her family’s values mirror those of Waldorf education, biodynamic farming, Anthroposophy, and many other aspects of Steiner’s teachings. Madelief attended the Lexington Waldorf School and Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School in Massachusetts before her family moved to Vermont in 1997. She has been a part of OVWS since 2008 when her eldest daughter started Kindergarten. Madelief has been engaged in many aspects of OVWS since then, stepping into the Administrative Director role in 2019. She has two daughters who are OVWS alums and her third daughter is enrolled at OVWS. When she is not at Orchard Valley she can be found walking, camping, reading, and spending time with her parents, brothers, sister-in-laws, nieces, and nephews who all live together in Cabot.

CAIT PETTEYS
Front Office Manager and Grades Administrator

Cait’s interest in Waldorf education began after the birth of her first child in 2018. She became involved with OVWS when she enrolled her child into Sweet Clover Nursery and in December 2021, Cait joined the OVWS staff as the Front Office Manager. She graduated with a dual major in Cinema Studies and Literature from Burlington College in 2013. Cait has also worked as a projectionist in a movie theater, traveled and worked as a farmhand in Ireland and the United States, and was most recently a pastry chef and baker.

TERI PAGE 
Admissions Director

Teri joined the OVWS community as a parent of two grades students in 2018, and served in several volunteer roles before joining the staff in July 2021 as the Admissions Director. Teri has a Master’s degree in Arts Administration and Nonprofit Management and has held administrative positions in dance education, theater, and music organizations, as well as in higher education. She is also the author of Family Homesteading and several other books and a website about homesteading, gardening, and off-grid living. Teri is a passionate gardener, a dancer, and a frequent performer of musical theater.

SUSAN HAND
Registrar

In 2009, Susan attended Morning Garden with her eldest daughter and has been connected to OVWS ever since. She joined the Front Office Staff in 2018 bringing a wealth of administrative skill after a 23-year career with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society where she served in several capacities, ranging from event coordination to information technology systems. Her extensive experience with database management supports her current role as Registrar. Susan enjoys reading, camping and kayaking with her family, and loves listening to music.

ROBERTA TORRENS
Farmhouse Early Childhood Administrator

After teaching at a small independent school in San Francisco that integrated its urban farm into the curriculum, Roberta was drawn to OVWS first as a parent in 2006, seeking a spiritually nourishing educational experience for her four children that prioritized creative expression, outdoor exploration and reverence for the natural world. Roberta has worn many hats at OVWS including Kindergarten Assistant, On the Land Assistant, Administrative Support and Front Office substitute. Roberta majored in Psychology and English at Middlebury College and has a Masters in English Literature from Middlebury's Bread Loaf School of English. When not at OVWS, Roberta enjoys paddle boarding, swimming, growing vegetables and herbs, spinning wool and exploring Vermont’s woods.

ANNA COUTURE
Sweet Clover Nursery Administrator

Many combined life experiences informed Anna, as a mother, herbalist, small business owner, youth mentor, and teacher, to settle into the work of Early Childhood Education as a career. She has been studying at Sophia's Hearth and Leading with Spirit. Anna continues to widen her scope in the realm of Waldorf Early Childhood Education and Administration. Anna is looking forward to using her skills as SCN Administrator/Teacher Support and encourages parents to reach out to her with any questions and/or comments.

KATE BENNECKER
Development Director

Kate joined the OVWS community in 2023 with a kindergartner and second-grader, and started working with the staff as Development Coordinator shortly after. She brings experience in education, project management, and writing, along with degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Western Washington University. Outside of OVWS, you’ll often find her reading a book, knitting a sweater, or working in her garden.

ELSA DOOLING
Social Media

Elsa holds a BS in English from North Carolina State University and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Waldorf Education at Antioch University New England. She is a communications, nonprofit and small business development specialist, as well as a Waldorf education and parenting specialist. Her concentrations are communications, marketing, business management, event planning, fundraising and education. She is also a writer and an experienced teacher.