Meet Our College of Teachers

Tina received her undergraduate and law degree from the University of Connecticut. She practiced corporate law for several years, but found herself yearning to be involved with Waldorf Education. After leaving the law firm, she led parent-child playgroups, and helped build a private Waldorf school in Weston, Connecticut. She also developed an early childhood program at Desert Marigold School in Phoenix, Arizona and became a Waldorf class teacher. Her family moved to Austin, Texas in 2006, to join the Austin Waldorf School community.

Tina enjoys family time, horseback riding, camping, and knitting.

Ani Hanelius Phillips attended Austin Waldorf School from kindergarten through Grade 12, graduating in 2001 as part of the first graduating class of the High School. She then attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where she graduated in 2005 with a degree in Human Development and Social Relations and a double Minor in Spanish and Education. While at Earlham, she thoroughly enjoyed playing collegiate level basketball, performing in multiple musicals, and singing in the campus Gospel Choir. After college, she lived internationally for five years, first working with adults with disabilities in a Camphill Community in Cape Town, South Africa; then studying Anthroposophy at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland; and finally co-founding and running a social entrepreneurial training for young international change-makers in Järna, Sweden, called the Youth initiative Program (www.YIP.se).

Upon returning to the States in 2011, she quickly found her way back to the Austin Waldorf School as a basketball coach and substitute teacher, and later joined the faculty as a Class Teacher in 2013. Her years in the classroom were fulfilling and inspiring and she is proud to have been able to teach the Class of 2025 in their early years. During that time, she married her husband, Joseph, and together they designed and built their beautiful home in South Austin where they live with their five children, Fin, Willa, Sadie, Ezra, and Arlo. Ani enjoys caring for and working with young children in her home, baking, being in nature, writing poetry, singing, and being in water.

Dawn Harrienger grew up in England and Australia, where she attended Waldorf schools. She holds a degree in Music and a postgraduate degree in Education. She trained as a Waldorf teacher in Michigan and then joined Austin Waldorf School as a class teacher in 1983, taking a class through eighth grade.

Dawn also led two classes from middle school through eighth grade, and has served in various other capacities in the school, including music teacher. Currently she teaches German to the students in grades one through eight.

Dawn enjoys camping, hiking, spinning, knitting, and pottery.

Katie Moran has been involved in outdoor education since 1992 and a Waldorf teacher since 2003. She received her Waldorf Teaching Certification from The Waldorf Institute of Southern California.

Katie is a Level IV Spacial Dynamics Graduate and a mentor of movement teachers worldwide. She uses Spacial Dynamics in her teaching as well as outreach in Hands in Peace Festivals and therapeutic work. Katie holds a Level III Junior Olympic Archery Certification through USA Archery and is a certified Bothmer Gymnast. She brings a wealth of knowledge to her classes as well as her love for dance and play.

Shizu started her career in early childhood education in Japan. Before she joined the Austin Waldorf kindergarten faculty in 2020, she had been a kindergarten teacher at Japanese schools for over 10 years in both US and Japan. She also worked at Waldorf Saturday Japanese Kindergartens in NY as an assistant teacher before moving to Austin.

She worked in various fields such as investment banking and consulting before becoming a teacher. She obtained her BA in Early Childhood Education at Tokyo University of Social Welfare in Japan. She attended the Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Education course at Sunbridge Institute in New York and obtained her Waldorf Early Childhood Educator Certificate in Summer 2022. She had been a Waldorf parent since her first child joined the Waldorf Saturday Japanese school in 2003.

Shizu’s hobbies include Hula, Japanese calligraphy, and traveling.

After earning a BA in English literature from San Fransisco State University, Kelli completed Waldorf Teacher Training at Bay Area Waldorf Teacher Training in 1995, Spacial Dynamics Training in 2006, LifeWays Training in 2009 and Mentoring Training in 2025. She joined the Austin Waldorf School faculty as a class teacher in 1995 and has filled a variety of roles as a teacher, mentor and parent volunteer in the AWS community since then. She feels that the very best part of teaching is getting to know and grow with her students.

Besides teaching, Kelli loves reading, traveling, spending time in nature, and dancing.

Josiah Simon holds a Ph.D. in German from the University of Oregon and has taught at various institutions, including the University of New Mexico, Carleton College and Valparaiso University. He previously worked at the Austin Waldorf School as an assistant in the German program. As a child, Josiah attended the Waldorf School of Princeton and also lived and attended grade school in Germany. He leads an active intellectual life, publishing articles and translations on the intersections of philosophy, literature and religion, with a special focus on German Jewish history.

Josiah believes learning languages and studying humanities opens up countless opportunities, teaching students to live open-mindedly and with curiosity and respect for other cultures and people. He enjoys collecting books, playing soccer, and juggling, all while being silly with his two daughters, who are also enrolled in the Austin Waldorf School. Josiah is committed to the holistic focus of Waldorf education and to the continual development of his teaching practice. He strives to work closely with his colleagues and students in order to consciously adapt and innovate for the diverse challenges of the current generation.

A fifth generation native Texan, Ash Gossett received her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas with a degree in Communications. Her experience with Waldorf education began in 2007, and a career that began in the Kindergarten continues to unfold year after year as a devoted journey throughout the grades.

Ash is presently the proud teacher of the current seventh grade class. Her genuine awe and respect for the world is a spark that draws forth curiosity and passion from her students for every subject studied. With a background in theatre, dance, and production, she approaches her teaching as another artform, weaving together a tapestry of skill, beauty, knowledge, and humanity to create rich and meaningful lessons for her students. In her free time she enjoys long drives across the desert, sidewalk cafes and art museums in Europe, springtime gardening in her backyard, cooking without recipes, long and deep conversations with anyone, and making friends laugh so hard they cry.

Ash and her husband of twenty years, Brian, are blessed to have their children, River, Sage, and Birdie attend the Austin Waldorf School as students, making this community a true tribe for her family.