Professional Staff

Eowyn Ciccone, College Counselor/Alumni Relations and High School Education Support Coordinator
Eowyn joined Shining Mountain in January, 2010 as our College Counselor, Alumni Relations Director and High School Education Support Coordinator.  She grew up surrounded by the beautiful Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, attended SUNY New Paltz, and earned a BA in Secondary Education English and a MEd in Curriculum and Supervision from UNC Charlotte.  She has served as an educator and High School English teacher for 15 years.  In addition to education, Eowyn’s interests include the healing arts, spiritual studies, meditation, and crafts.  When she is not working with our high school students, Eowyn can be found outdoors, biking, hiking, boating, camping, cross country skiing, and connecting to nature.


Mary Eaton Fairfield, Fundraising & Outreach Coordinator
Mary joined the Shining Mountain staff in the Development Office as Fundraising & Outreach Coordinator in 2011. A prior Chair and Co-Chair of our annual Gala Fundraiser, Mary also brings extensive business skills from her previous careers in account management and as a special events coordinator to her current position. She holds the school’s major fundraising and outreach events, including Halloween Wonder Walk, the King Winter Celebration & Holiday Bazaar, the Annual Gala Fundraiser and the Shining Mountain Circus. Mary received a BA in Theatre Arts with a Performing Arts Emphasis and Music Minor from San Francisco State University. She moved to Boulder three years ago from Northern California and loves living in this beautiful mountain region. Mary enjoys yoga, biking, singing, gardening, hiking, skiing, skating and spending time with her daughter, Fiona, who is thriving at Shining Mountain.


Bridget Gallagher, High School Receptionist and Administrative Assistant
Bridget Gallagher is our High School Receptionist/Administrative Assistant. She (wo)mans our front desk and constantly interfaces with students, parents and faculty striving daily to create joyful harmony and order  in our high school’s daily rhythm.  Born and raised in central New York state, Bridget earned a B.A. in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego. Her passions are art, literature, and theatre. She and her husband, Stephen Smith, have two stunning Shining Mountain graduates, Rory (Class of 2004) and Patrick (Class of 2010). Rory graduated from Metro State University of Denver in May 2012 with a BFA in Printmaking and Patrick is majoring in Music Business at NYU.



John Hamilton, Athletic Director, HSCC Coach, HS Track & Field Coach
John is Shining Mountain’s Athletic Director, head high school cross-country coach and the co-founder/head coach of the high school track & field program.  He was born in Austin, Texas and grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  John has a BA in psychology from Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, Colorado.  Before coaching John competed in cross country and track and field both at the high school and NCAA division II level.


Jeffrey Herring, Admissions and Accounting Assistant
Jeff rejoined Shining Mountain in January 2011 and enjoys working with the parent community at SMWS. Jeff has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Resort Management from Colorado Mountain College. He is also an aviation enthusiast and is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in aviation technology with dreams of being a commercial airline pilot.


Laurie Ireland-Ashley, Business Director
Laurie joined the wonderful Shining Mountain community of faculty and staff in March, 2012.  Laurie is the daughter of a minister. As such, she spent her childhood living in many areas of the country from coast to coast. As a result, she learned to love working with people as much as she loves working with numbers. Numbers hold a power and magic for Laurie that is both her passion and her pleasure.  Laurie brings with her varied experience in business and finance – from being the Finance Director for municipalities to running her own business. Laurie is delighted to be able to use her skill set for the benefit of the school her child attends.


Katie Larson, Middle School Counselor
Katie Larson, Shining Mountain’s Middle School Counselor, holds an MA in Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy with a concentration in Art Therapy.   Katie was born and raised in Grand Junction and for her, the desert will always be home.  She did her undergraduate work at CU Boulder in Psychology and Communication.  After graduating in 2005, Katie moved to New York City, Taos, Seattle, Los Angeles, West Yellowstone, Burbank, and she is now thrilled to be back in Colorado.  Katie studied Marriage and Family Therapy and Art Therapy at the Phillips Graduate Institute in Southern California.  She enjoys running, watercolor painting, star-gazing, and spending time with her awesome partner, Joe.  Katie’s heroes include (but are not limited to), Georgia O’Keeffe, John Muir, Oliver Sacks, and Frida Kahlo.  


Susan Levine, School Director Sue became Shining Mountain’s School Director in August, 2010. Her three children graduated from SMWS, and she was an SMWS parent for 18 years. Prior to becoming School Director, she served on the Board of Trustees both as Secretary and as Co-Chair. Sue’s professional background includes classical music, and she was the Executive Director of the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra for seven seasons. Sue serves as SMWS’ First Delegate to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (ASWNA).



Erin Lawinski, Director of Admissions
Erin joined the SMWS staff as the Director of Admissions in October, 2010. Prior to her permanent position with the school, she coached the High School Girls Volleyball team for six years, and continues to volunteer for the athletic program. She was raised in Estes Park, CO and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her career path has included positions in advertising, management, marketing, and placement. Erin and her husband have two young children. Her son is enrolled in the Kindergarten at Shining Mountain, and Erin attends the Parent-Child program at SMWS with her new baby girl. Erin loves playing volleyball, hiking, and spending time outdoors with her family.


Anita Li, Communications Coordinator, Online Forms Manager
Anita worked at Shining Mountain in 2000-2001, left to study at Naropa University, and returned to SMWS in 2006.  She comes to the office each day knowing that her work supports a school that nurtures children on many levels, showing them that community is possible and that their gifts are welcome. Anita has a B.A. in Writing & Poetics from Naropa University and a strong interest in history, particularly the history of democracy.

Rynn Miller, Accountant
Rynn Miller was raised in the Pacific Northwest, and still misses the ocean.  Rynn holds an undergraduate degree in Business with an emphasis in Accounting from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado, and in Geology from the University of Washington.  She has two sons, a step daughter and stepson, and several grandchildren.  Rynn’s interests include silver-smithing, stone sculpture, and glass fusing when she’s not snowboarding or floating down the Arkansas River, or traveling with her husband in their vintage Airstream.


Cindy Powers, Assistant to the School Director
Cindy was raised on the east coast, partially in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and partially in West Virginia’s beautiful Appalachian Mountains. She moved to Boulder in 2010 to get her masters degree at Naropa University in Environmental Leadership with a focus in education systems. Upon arriving in Boulder, she fell in love with the Waldorf way of raising/educating children and joined Shining Mountain in the spring of 2011. She did her masters work at Shining Mountain and graduated in May of 2012. Cindy loves working at Shining Mountain in such a beautiful and inspiring community!


Karen Ryerson, Lower Grades Office Receptionist/Secretary 
Karen has lived in Boulder since 1976.  Her sons are Colorado natives.  Karen, by contrast, was a military “brat” and has lived all over the US, as well as in England and Japan.  She taught at junior high level many years ago.  She enjoys hiking, biking, reading and gardening.


Christopher Sassano, Director, Buildings and Grounds
Christopher has been with SMWS since 1987.  He has taught music, athletics, gardening and drumming over those years and is currently the Facilities Manager, a position he has also held since 1987.  Christopher has completed the Foundation Year at the Rudolph Steiner College in Sacramento.  He also has completed several years of University studies in music and in education.  His wife was a class teacher at SMWS and took a class through the 1st-8th grade cycle.  His daughter also went to SMWS.


Merrin Stein, High School AdministratorMerrin joined the high school herself in 2009 after witnessing the seeds of Waldorf Education blossom and bear fruit in her two beautiful daughters’ lives (Tirzah and Grace) and in the lives of so many young people she has known. Her commitment to supporting the school, its faculty and students led her to where you’ll find her most days, working in the heart of the high school. Merrin has lived in Boulder since 1976, has worked in many levels of administration, is a writer, enjoys contemplative spaces, internally and externally; and has now circumnavigated Wonderland Lake approximately 3,146 times.


Jane Zeender, Development Director
Jane is in her third year at Shining Mountain Waldorf School, the second as Development Director.  She feels extremely blessed to serve Shining Mountain Waldorf School in this capacity. She grew up in Maryland and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a MBA in Marketing from The George Washington University. She has spent her career in various sales, sales management, and marketing positions in Fortune 100 companies (Johnson and Johnson, Warner-Lambert) as well as being a marketing consultant for high tech, medical device, and environmental start up organizations.  Prior to moving to Boulder, she was an early parent at Potomac Crescent Waldorf School in Arlington, Virginia, where she served on the Board of Trustees for 3 years and was instrumental in helping them achieve Developing School Status with AWSNA.  Her two children are enrolled in the lower school at Shining Mountain and are thriving. In her spare time, Jane loves to hike, mountain bike, and cross country ski with her family.