Mishka was first introduced to Waldorf Education by a dear friend who invited her and her children to join Ms. Kari’s Parent-Child class in 2019. Captivated by the warm and nourishing environment at City of Fountains School, it didn’t take long for the desire to dig deeper to be ignited; and as she did, she was amazed to discover a world her soul craved deeply, yet previously did not know existed.

Mishka has spent many years in a variety of early childhood settings such as a Montessori early childhood program, a program in Uppsala Sweden, and in-home child care. She currently provides childcare during Shabbat services at Chabad on the Plaza, a local Jewish community. She is thrilled to continue her journey as an early childhood educator at COFS and began her time at the school with in-house training by Robyn Brown of the Mulberry Center for Curative Education.

She lives with her husband, Jonny; her children, Isaac and Hazel, who both attend COFS; and her pet (cat in a dog’s body) Chloe. Having spent much of her childhood in both the Great Lakes of Michigan, as well as a small farming village in the mountains of Lower Austria, she has a deep love and reverence for the natural world that has shaped her family values and how she wishes to spend time with her family. Mishka can be found reading (sometimes many books at once), needle felting, or attempting to knit socks.

Growing up in a multicultural community in Vienna, Austria, inspired her love of life stories and languages –  she speaks German and some Swedish. She is constantly inspired by the wonder she sees in her own two children, as well as the many other lovely tiny humans she has been blessed to spend time with over the years.