Emily Palmer - Founder and Director
Emily was born and raised in Mancos. She brings her love, knowledge, and commitment to the Mancos Valley community to her work at Dragonfly. She is the founding Board President that helped dream and craft Dragonfly into existence (9 parents worked together to found Dragonfly!). She has stayed involved with the school since its beginnings in 2018, and is now the official Director. Emily wears many hats at school—namely Mother, Director, Board member, Founder. Seeing Dragonfly School through to maturity and success continues to be a full time job and a passion.
Her background? Emily has a college degree in Southwest Studies and Botany from Colorado College. Emily spent most of her adult summers leading teenagers on wilderness expeditions through the local expedition company Deer Hill Expeditions. These summers taught her the value of nature in children’s lives, and the power of education.
In her 30s, motherhood has become Emily’s passion and life’s work, mothering Hazel (7) and Olivia (5 years old and in Kindergarten at Dragonfly). Emily loves to be in the mountains, raft down rivers, garden, go on fancy dates with her husband John, and show her girls the wonders of Mother Nature.
Claire Broughton- Kindergarten Lead teacher
Growing up in the woods of Northern Canada, Claire's fondest memories are of wild play in the natural world, where curiosity and imagination guided her sense of wonder and love for all beings. At the age of 12, her youngest brother was born, and so began her love of caring for young children. Her strong family ties to camp and cottage life led her to early beginnings as a girl guide and summer camp counselor.
Claire studied biology and ecology at Queen's University and spent her summers working with children. After graduating, she began an internship with the Environmental Youth Alliance in Vancouver, where she soon became coordinator of the Growing Kids and Youth Garden programs, bringing nature awareness and urban agriculture to at-risk youth of all ages in the metro area. During this time, she also began studying at the Wilderness Awareness School in the ways of Coyote Mentoring.
She and her husband returned to Colorado, and in 2015 she found Waldorf early childhood education through the LifeWays program. She soon began working with her mentor, Mindy Upton, a master teacher, storyteller and doll maker at Blue Sky Kindergarten. Her experience with Mindy allowed her to step into the classroom as assistant and then lead teacher at Boulder Waldorf Kindergarten for three years. Claire continues to study early childhood, anthroposophy and the creative arts.
Claire's teaching is informed by the natural rhythms of the Earth, and she is devoted to beauty, simplicity and connection. She is a student of the old ways, striving to remember and integrate the majesty of human beings into so-called modern life. You may find her singing, knitting, tending the land, and wandering.
She and Will moved away from hustle-and-bustle of big city life, back to the quiet and slower pace of the Mancos Valley in 2020, and Claire began teaching as the preschool teacher at Dragonfly School. She enjoyed the opportunity to deepen her relationship with that group of children, going on as their Kindergarten teacher, then Grade One teacher at Dragonfly. Claire is now settled as the core Kindergarten teacher.
Rebecca Favero - Preschool Lead Teacher
Rebecca was born and raised in Minnesota. She is the youngest of 5 kids and loved growing up in a big family (mostly ;). Rebecca went to college in Minnesota and studied Biology in hopes to work in the field of Environmental Science. However, through volunteer work she came to find that her heart was much more geared towards working with people; especially in wild places. She worked in Social Work positions largely with youth and families in need. She led a youth gardening camp for young ones, as well as youth tennis camps, youth music lessons and nature programs. She also worked as a youth mentor for homeless and runaway youth. Rebecca also spent time working in Hospice, helping elders with their end of life journey.
The wild kept calling and Rebecca moved out to the Four Corners region and fell in love with the mountains and rivers and deserts here. Rebecca began her career in Wilderness Therapy; leading groups of young people in the mountains and deserts and supporting them in finding their strength and center through wilderness skills and ceremony. She also led Family Quests, supporting families on healing trips in the wilderness. Rebecca also works as a birth and death doula.
Last year Rebecca was a teacher in the Chickadee Classroom at Dragonfly. Before the school year, as well as during the school year, she took courses like the foundational year of Waldorf Teacher Training, a 7 month long course on Expanding Quality in Infant and Toddler Care, and a 6 month course called Explorations on the philosophy and pedagogy of Waldorf Education.
Rebecca's first love is music; She loves to sing and play the piano and guitar. She loves to learn about different cultures through learning their music while traveling; in Italy, Colombia, and hopefully many more places to come. Her heart swells with joy when she gets to sing with young ones; especially when there is frolicing involved.
Rebecca feels honored to share space and time with children and strives to honor their essence in all the little and big moments they share together.
Gabriel Hughes -Kindergarten Teacher
Gabriel grew up in the rolling hills of Kimberton, Pennsylvania, raised by teachers at the Kimberton Waldorf School (KWS). His mother, Erin Byrne, is currently the Forest Kindergarten teacher at KWS, and his father, Kevin Hughes, was a long-time teacher and the Dean of the school before retirement. Gabriel attended KWS from Preschool through 12th grade, and has vivid memories of Preschool and Kindergarten where he and his classmates enjoyed outdoor playtime and listening with vivid imaginations to their teacher's storytelling.
Gabriel graduated from Prescott College in 2018 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Ecology, and a minor in Human Development and Adventure Education. After graduating in Prescott, Arizona, Gabriel became a Field Guide with Open Sky Wilderness Therapy in Durango, Colorado, which he found to be a time of immense personal and professional growth. He was a Senior Guide for several years before beginning at the Dragonfly School, and brings many qualities that serve him as a teacher. He has a deep sense of awe and love for nature, a flexibility and balance when facing challenging situations, and a gentleness and kindness that offers safety and security to a child. He feels comfortable meeting the individual where they are, and helping to bring out their unique gifts through artistic expression, storytelling, song and play. He is excited to be at this sweet school nestled in the rolling hills outside of Mancos, and feels grateful to be in the high desert and wild areas of the southwest that he fell in love with in college.
In his free time, you will find Gabriel mountain biking through the mountains or deserts of the Four Corners region, listening to music, making dinner with friends, and practicing meditation and yoga. He is continually developing his rhythm in daily life, and seeks to bring the importance of rhythm and structure into the classroom at the Dragonfly School.
Kathryn Zion - Parent and Child Teacher
Kathryn grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota where she enjoyed camping, boating, snowmobiling and outdoor sports all year as her family owned an outdoor recreation business in Rapid City. She moved to Denver after High School to go to school and fell in love with Colorado. Kathryn has two daughters; one went to Montessori kindergarten and is a Ph.D. and an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the other attended Waldorf preschool through the 8th grade and works as a Parent-Child Home Program Site Coordinator for a non-profit organization in Washington. Kathryn helped start the Front Range Waldorf Preschool in Golden, attended Gradalis Remedial Elementary Training in Boulder, and home-schooled 1st and 2nd grade using Oak Meadows curriculum. She worked at the Denver Waldorf School as a Teaching Assistant 1st -3rd grade for a large class, then attended Rudolph Steiner College in California. She feels blessed to have a Waldorf Mentor in Denver to guide her on this wonderful new adventure at the Dragonfly Preschool. She feels at home in Mancos, where there is a community of supporting and harmonious beings with a plethora of activities to enjoy.
Kathryn has been our beloved Preschool Assistant Teacher since our beginnings 4 years ago—and every child who has passed through our school has known her warmth and infectious laugh! This year she is moving into a new role as Wise Elder, mentor, and Parent and Child class teacher.
Larissa Alvarado-Kindergarten Afternoon Teacher
Larissa has been a teacher for many years. She taught English and the grades curriculum in Vietnam for 3 years, and taught in other Early Childhood schools on the Front Range. She has a degree in Elementary Education and a passion for creating creative, diverse, and fun learning environments for children of all abilities.
Larissa is a massage therapist at Amaya in Durango on the weekends, when not at Dragonfly. She joined Dragonfly as the Kindergarten Afternoons teacher this year, and brings a steady presence and joyous demeanor to her work with the children. She brings much life experience to her role here as well.
Kristin Stiff-Preschool Assistant Teacher
A remarkable Artist, Kristin has taught art to all ages. She brings a love of creativity and the arts to her role at Dragonfly School as Assistant Preschool Teacher. More about Kristin coming soon!
Meg Hill -
Preschool Assistant Teacher
Meg went to a Waldorf Preschool in her early childhood and still remembers the magic. At Dragonfly she is our beloved Afternoon nap teacher, helping children to rest with a steady, even presence. In her time not spent at Dragonfly, Meg care- takes and works for the Fenceline/Outlier Cellar orchards. More of Meg’s bio coming soon.
Katie Broman -Office Manager and Director’s Assistant
Katie brings much life experience and heart to her role at Dragonfly. More about her coming soon!
Karl Johnson -
School Mentor
We are lucky to have Karl at Dragonfly working with our teachers, parents, and children both remotely and in person when he comes to visit (Karl lives on the Front Range).
Karl David Johnson, M.A., has been an educator for over 40 years and has taught in the Waldorf movement since 1986. He is currently serving the Mountain Song Community School as Pedagogical Director. During the pandemic, Karl was in the classroom and served the Boulder Valley Waldorf School as a Middle School class teacher. He has previously served in a pedagogical support role for the Santa Fe Waldorf School, the Siskiyou School in Ashland, Oregon and the Kona Pacific Public Waldorf School on the Big Island of Hawaii. Prior to that support work, Karl taught as class teacher in Durango, Colorado and he had two classes at the Santa Fe Waldorf School. Karl has also taught blocks in various schools as a guest teacher. At the high school level, Karl has taught music – both Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble - and directed the Wilderness Experience program for the Santa Fe Waldorf High School. Additionally, Karl is a certified Educational Support Specialist and has supported children with learning issues, conducting assessments and developing and implementing support plans.
An experienced mentor and consultant, Karl has mentored hundreds of teachers at dozens of schools and has trained teachers and conducted workshops in China, Nepal, New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.. He has taught on the summer faculty for the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy in British Columbia, in the Xian Waldorf Teacher Training Program in Xian, China, and as a Foundations Studies course facilitator for Sophia Institute, and as a Practicum Supervisor for Antioch University Waldorf Teacher Training Program. He is currently a teacher trainer on the faculty of Gradalis Institute and supports teachers all over the West with field mentoring. Karl Johnson is the author of the forthcoming book: Honing Our Craft: Pedagogy and Leadership in the Waldorf Classroom.