Meet our teachers

A woman sitting on a tree stump outdoors, holding a baby goat, smiling, with trees and a small shed in the background.

  • My path to becoming an educator has been shaped by a love of children, the natural world, and a lifelong curiosity about how people learn. I earned my bachelor's degree in Educational and Cultural Studies from The Evergreen State College, completed my Waldorf Teacher Training through Sound Circle Center in Seattle, and received my Permaculture Design Certificate from Lost Valley Education Center in Oregon.

    Before becoming a teacher, I worked as a wildland firefighter in Oregon, volunteered on organic farms throughout Europe, studied Spanish through cultural immersion programs in Spain and Central and South America, and participated in wildlife biology fieldwork in Mexico with a focus on birds and native plants. Each of these experiences deepened my appreciation for the interconnectedness of people and nature and continues to shape the way I teach today.

    For more than 15 years, I've had the privilege of working with children in a variety of settings, including Seattle Tilth Children's Garden, AmeriCorps, Bright Water Waldorf School in Seattle, and Windsong School in Spokane. Every child and every classroom has taught me something new about the importance of relationships, meaningful work, unhurried childhood, and the incredible capacity children have to learn through play.

    I continue to be inspired by Waldorf education, permaculture, and the countless lessons that nature offers each day. At Blessing Farm and Forest, my hope is to create a place where children feel deeply connected—to themselves, to one another, and to the living world around them.

  • Melissa is a mother, musician and lover of nature. She has worked in Waldorf setting for two years, has taught preschool music classes as well as been a leader at summer camps. When she is off the clock you'll find her baking sourdough, painting, hiking with her children, playing with her animals, writing songs and poetry and dabbling with herbal medicine.

  • Celia Vigil is a lifelong Spokanite with a passion for spending time outdoors and working with children. She has worked with youth and children in various capacities, including helping run a youth soccer camp for immigrant and refugee youth, teaching swim lessons, and teaching reading and writing in Spanish at an elementary school in Costa Rica. Celia loves hiking and volunteering to clean up natural areas. She even once worked on a highway litter crew and learned to set up a “Work Area Ahead” sign in ten seconds with her team. She is an avid watercolor painter and loves all things arts and crafts. Celia also speaks Spanish and studied Spanish literature. She is thrilled to be a part of the Blessing Farm & Forest community.

A young woman with long brown hair smiling outdoors in a wooded area. She is wrapped in a brown and beige plaid blanket, with trees and patches of snow on the ground in the background.

  • Cory has been known as a village auntie for over 20 years. In recent years she was the after care lead at the Waldorf School in Sandpoint, and also a rotating lead at a forest pre-school in Taos, NM. 

    While at university, family work beckoned Cory, leading her to study and practice as a doula in support of birth, post partum, and end of life. Simultaneously, 13 years as a licensed massage therapist has continued to stoke the passion of studying human physiology and development, emotional intelligence, and tending to the nervous system. Children and animals have taught her some of her deepest lessons, as did her travels globally and within. Rudolf Steiner and Bell Hooks have shaped her studies, as well as the 8 limb path of yoga, and indigenous practices of Hawaii and Thailand, among other cultures closer to home.  

A woman with long blonde hair smiling outdoors against green foliage.

  • Melissa Cotter is an adventure seeker, outdoor lover and mother of a spirited little one. Having an 8 year career as an orthodontic assistant doing bill paying and ordering, Melissa decided to slow down life and become a stay at home mom. It was then she found Blessing Farm and Forest, a beautiful outdoor school for her son. Soon after, an administrative position opened up and it was a perfect fit with her passion for organization, personal finance, and still being connected with her son’s learning experience.