Leadership
WHITNEY STEVENSON CHANANA
Funding Founder, Joint Head of School
Whitney is grateful for the opportunity to bring a new education option to the valley where she grew up. For Whitney, Waldorf education is elegant in the way it cultivates the child’s intellectual and creative capacities without sacrifice. She loves seeing the spark lit within other parents when they connect with the philosophy.
Whitney was born and raised in the Valley. After graduating from UC Davis and climbing the ranks on Wall St as a research analyst covering semiconductors, retail, and hospitality, she left as one of the few women to have led a sector. Prompted by a desire to birth her children at home and raise them outside of NYC, she returned to the Valley in October 2020, just two months before her first son was born. The journey to launch a Waldorf inspired school started one year later with her husband, Sundeep.
CHINYELU KUNZ
Joint Head of School & Parent Liaison
Chinyelu is passionate about Waldorf education and continues to be deeply inspired by its philosophy and wisdom—even after 32 years of living and working within it.
Being part of the founding of Hundred Hills School feels like both a culmination and a wonderful new beginning. For Chinyelu, this is not just a role—it is a calling. She sees her place at the school as a bridge: between families and teachers, between vision and action, between history and possibility. She hopes to cultivate a space where parents feel deeply seen, supported, and empowered. She carries a deep reverence for the unfolding journey of childhood and she holds with reverence the community that surrounds both parents and children.
Chinyelu was born and mostly raised in Enugu, Nigeria, West Africa. After graduating from high school, she left Nigeria to attend university in the United States, earning a Master’s in Architecture. She holds a teaching certificate in Waldorf Early Childhood and spent 16 years at Kimberton Waldorf School where she taught both parent-child and pre-kindergarten classes. Most recently she has built her online brand, We Nurture Collective, and published her first resource book for parents - The Little Book of Parenting; How to Nurture Your Child To Their Full Potential.
Chinyelu is honored and thrilled to be part of the birth of a school inspired by the rich traditions and wisdom of Waldorf education—a school where beauty, rhythm, wonder, and human connection are at the heart of learning
Faculty
HEIDI BURKE
Lavender Kindergarten Lead
My life as an educator began long before I became a teacher.
I was raised by Argentine immigrant parents who came to the United States with little more than determination, hope, and a dream of building a new life. Together, they created a small homestead where everyone had a role. We gardened, canned, cared for animals, sewed, knit, built, harvested, and learned that meaningful work was simply part of family life. Most of all, we were given the freedom to roam. My siblings, neighborhood friends, and I spent countless hours exploring forests, fields, rivers, and country roads, discovering who we were through play, adventure, and the natural world.
Looking back, I realize those early experiences shaped not only who I became, but how I would one day teach.
For more than 30 years, I have worked with young children in both public and Waldorf education. My path has included Waldorf teacher training through Sophia's Hearth, a mentorship in Denmark with the world renowned Helle Heckman who created Nökken, the first all outdoor Waldorf Kindergarten in the world for children ages 1-7, founding Camp Udenfor, an outdoor mixed-age learning community centered on self-directed play and nature immersion, co-founding Parent Wild to support families, mentoring teachers, consulting with schools on rhythm and early childhood environments, and most recently helping guide educational leadership at a Waldorf-inspired school in Costa Rica.
Whether I'm tending my home and yard, biking, hiking, camping, cooking, beautifying and organizing outdoor play-based environments, or walking alongside children throughout their developing years, I find deep joy in the simple rhythms of daily life. I believe children flourish when they are trusted, included in meaningful work, and given time to wonder, play, and belong.
Joining Hundred Hills feels like coming home. As someone who loves building strong foundations, I am honored to be part of this pioneering community and look forward to growing alongside the children and families who will help shape its story.
RACHEL DUNLEAVY
Sweetpea Preschool Lead
While studying Holistic Nutrition and Art Education in college, Rachel came across the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf Education. Inspired by the holistic (mind, body, soul/spirit) approach to education, Rachel went on to pursue a Master's Degree in Education from Antioch University New England. She previously worked at the Camphill Special School in Kimberton, PA, assisting in the Kindergarten and providing 1:1 support. She also taught first grade at the Waldorf School of Philadelphia.
Rachel continues to be inspired by Theosophy, nurturing the whole child, and observing, modeling, and fostering reverence for the natural world. She strongly believes that when children enjoy school, it builds a lifelong love of learning. Rachel also believes it is important to teach children how to communicate with each other and treat one another with kindness and respect. This positive and healthy atmosphere instills in children a sense that "the world is good." This foundational belief carries children through life as they blossom into their unfolding identity.
In addition to her grades teacher training, Rachel has early childhood training. She has also written a 118-page peer-reviewed scientific journal article, "Waldorf Education and Children with Anxiety, Depression, and ADHD." Originally from NJ and PA, Rachel now lives in Ojai, CA, with her two children and multiple pets. She enjoys gardening, art, and candle-making.
LORI SHIRRAN
Afternoon Assistant
Born and raised in a fishing outport in Newfoundland, Lori’s childhood was shaped by a deep reverence for nature, a strong sense of community, and a culturally-rich upbringing. Domestic life meant living off the land and sea. Gardening, foraging berries, preserving, cooking, baking, sewing, and knitting were skills she learned from her mother and grandmother. She marveled at her father’s and grandfather’s fine craftsmanship as master woodworkers, building fishing boats from scratch. During summer, Lori observed her grandfather fish with the very same nets that he knit and repaired in his shed during winter. Her duty was to fill his knitting needles with fishing twine.
While at college, Lori’s love of learning took the spotlight. She studied Drama, Folklore, and Education, earning a B.A. and a B.Ed. Upon graduation, her passion for travel took her to Japan for three years to teach ESL. After returning to Canada, she acquired an M.Ed. (Deaf Studies).
This path led to the discovery of Rudolf Steiner’s curative approach to education when she accepted an assistant teaching position for a deaf student at Care to Learn, a Waldorf-inspired preschool in Nelson, British Columbia. Later, she joined The Nelson Waldorf School as an assistant teacher to the seventh-grade classroom. Eventually, Lori returned to early childhood education as a preschool teacher at The Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Marrying the love of her life, Lori began a new journey that brought her to California. In 2016, she enrolled in The San Francisco Bay Area Lifeways Training Program. She received guidance and attended workshops given by pioneering Lifeways instructors, including Marianne Alsop, Cynthia Aldinger, and Helle Heckmann. Upon earning her Lifeways certificate, Lori joined The Davis Waldorf School staff as a teacher assistant in the Preschool Aftercare Program.
In 2018, Lori moved to the Santa Ynez Valley and has been providing yoga instruction throughout the area. Deeply honored to be a part of The Hundred Hills School’s growth, Lori is delighted to offer helping hands in nurturing the roots of such a Waldorf-inspired community.
KATIE ROSE HAMES
Kitchen and Garden Steward
Miss Katie comes to us from the Waldorf School of Santa Barbara, where she spent the past three years assisting in the Kindergarten classroom. She will continue with this work at Hundred Hills and lead fresh food production and cooking as curriculum.
Previously, Katie ran the farm-to-table program at Midland School for eight years, working on the certified organic school farm and with the chefs to supply fresh produce to the kitchen. She completed her Master’s Degree in Education at UCSB. She also holds a B.S. in Biology from Colby College and is a graduate of The Thacher School in Ojai.
Katie was born and raised on her family’s cattle ranch on Highway 1 in Santa Barbara County. She grew up helping her parents with their cow-calf operation, working in the garden, and standing on a stool by the stove stirring big pots of jam made with fruit from the orchard.
She is the mother of two current Waldorf students.