Carrie, the visionary founder of Shakti Life Kitchen, has been at the helm of this thriving organic plant-based food company for 15 years. Her entrepreneurial journey began as a part owner of European Street Café , a role she held for over three decades. This experience instilled in her the value of community service and the power of collaboration in achieving ambitious goals.  Carrie's academic achievements include a B.A. in Sociology, certification as a Plant-based nutritionist from Cornell, and a certificate from the Master's program in Waldorf Education at Antioch University.    

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Being raised in Northeast Florida and being immersed in the service industry for over 30 years has allowed Carrie to make supportive connections city-wide that support the mission to further Outdoor Waldorf Education and set the platform for our becoming a Biodynamic garden. She is deeply connected to the life of the land and gets her inspiration from that which grows locally. She is a mother to Zophia, a graduate of the K-8 Spring River program. Carrie was hired as Spring River School’s program director in 2021.  Her teaching experience is from 4th to 6th grade.  Carrie also served as a volunteer for the Waldorf movement for eight years where she served as Board President of The Playgarden, Inc. in 2012-2013 and board member for the following seven years.

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Carrie is a co-founder of the NE Florida Chapter of the Anthroposophical Society named the Sophia Circle. Her dedication to this study has helped her create a bond with the Center for Anthroposophy, our nation's premier organization supporting Waldorf teacher training and the growth of Biodynamics.

Alyssa began her work with grassroots organizations in the 1990s at a time when social responsibility was laying the groundwork for community-supported endeavors. She was inspired by the implementation of local resources where people were drawn together to innovate and co-create through common spiritual goals. The ability to operate methodically in complex systems led her to later pursue research-based fields of study, designing human clinical trials for medical research. 

Alyssa and her husband welcomed the births of their three children while living in Germany and Switzerland, where she led a campaign to enhance outreach and city funding for an existing Anthroposophical Birthing House. Following a transformative time in the St. Paul’s Steiner School Community in London, the family settled in the greater Boston area, where Alyssa supported the local Waldorf school on economic reform, inspired by the work of The Institute for Social Renewal. She went on to found an independent educational cooperative of experienced Waldorf Teachers, and hosted a rich community social life anchored in seasonal festivals. She participated in the development of entrepreneurial education models with the Pioneer Institute Boston, and completed Waldorf Board Training with Leading Together.  Alyssa holds degrees in Fine Art, Natural Science and Mathematics.

Alyssa is passionate about the establishment of free thinking learning guilds, and having been raised on a small family farm, deeply committed to securing farmland for biodynamic cultivation in order to provide adults and children with community education in agricultural settings.

Jill was raised in Atlantic Beach, graduated from Fletcher, and went on to graduate from the University of North Florida with her degree in education. She is certified in High School Biology and Middle Grades Science and endorsed in Gifted Education. Jill taught in Duval and St. Johns counties for 32 years. 

She has a passion for science that began in elementary school and continues. 

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Lifelong learning is important, she is pursuing certification as a Master Naturalist through UF. She is also working on a dog training program and would like to train service dogs eventually. Jill has homeschooled her granddaughters (who are Spring River students) in science.  She was very excited to learn that Spring River was adding a high school level. The emphasis on immersing students in the wonder and science of our unique environment and also fostering the responsibility we hold as its guardians is a core value she shares with the school.

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Jill served as a licensed boat captain and instructor for St Johns County Marine Science Summer Camp for several summers. She also led an annual 3 day environmental education science camp with her students to St, Simons Island, Georgia. 

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“Science is how the world works; no matter which area is being taught, it’s important to make it relatable; that’s how you draw students in.”

Engaging students is key according to Jill, then varying the methods of delivery…"there are so many ways that students can learn.” 

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Some of Jills other passions are hanging out with the grandkids, growing things, her dog Ellie, and travel. She recently traveled to Peru and visited Machu Picchu then flew over the Nazca Lines.

Hi! Name is Rosie Eddy. I grew up in an Army family so answering the typical “where are you from” question is always difficult! However, my parents are from the Tampa Bay Area (Seminole and Dunedin) and I grew up traveling to Florida for most school breaks and holidays, so Florida has always felt like home.

My husband (born and raised in Alabama) recently retired from the Navy out of Mayport, NS, and we are thankful to be able to put down roots here in Jacksonville for ourselves and our two young sons!

I graduated Cum Laude from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in December of 2016 with my degree in Secondary Math Education. I was offered a position as a math and electives teacher and started teaching a month before graduation at Liberty Middle School in Madison, AL. I achieved tenure status and then ultimately resigned in the summer of 2020 when my husband went on active duty. The time out of the classroom was a gift to our family.

I was a freelance tutor during this time and able to focus more fully on my oldest son and his learning differences, a healthy pregnancy with our youngest, our move to Mayport, a healthy delivery, and settling into the rhythm of life here.

I am so thankful that I did take that time out of the classroom to focus on my family, but I am thrilled to have this opportunity to once again work with larger groups of students and help them foster confidence in themselves as problem solvers and critical thinkers! Math can be intimidating to students for a multitude of reasons, but I am here to remind them that they CAN do hard things and that almost everything was hard before they learned how to do it.

I take a student-centric approach to teaching. A typical class might look like students taking notes and going through guided practice with me for 15-20 minutes and then working together and encouraging each other in problem solving activities and games around the room. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out! I cannot wait to work with your students!

Music has always been important to Linda. Her grandpa played piano by ear and founded the Barbershop Quartet Society in Toledo in the 1930s. Growing up in Michigan, Linda and her sisters played their player piano (and also school) in their basement for countless hours. She joined the junior choir in second grade and (after some begging) was allowed to take piano lessons beginning in third grade.  Linda studied viola and cello and played bass in the high school Jazz Band. To march in the high school Marching Band, she took up glockenspiel to play in the Pep Band, cowbell! Linda also sang in the Madrigal Choir and had leads in the high school Musicals. More recently, Linda has played Irish music on fiddle and Celtic harp. For twenty years, she’s been a faculty member at The Walker Family Band Fiddle Camp in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, whe teaches ukulele and creative movement.

Linda obtained her bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and in Music Performance from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan and her Master’s degree in Cello Performance from University of Memphis. Before moving to Jacksonville Linda played as assistant principal cellist with the Memphis Symphony, created a Suzuki Cello program and was a cofounder of the Rhodes College Piano Trio.

During those years, Linda discovered Rudolf Steiner’s writings and learned about Waldorf Education. She was one of the founding members of The Jacksonville Waldorf Initiative in the early 1990’s. Her son Victor attended Seaside Playgarden preschool groups along with our dear K teacher, Sierra Humphreys. He was homeschooled K-8 with the Waldorf Without Walls curriculum, Oak Meadow, and attended Douglas Anderson Performing Arts High School.

Linda completed the Center for Anthroposophy’s  Explorations and the Building Bridges courses. She is a member of the JEC Sophia Circle Anthroposophical Study Group and often partakes in Holistic Biography courses online. She has been enjoying teaching music for the third through eighth graders for two years at Spring River School.

Helena Acosta holds a B.A. in Art History from the University of Los Andes in Venezuela and a Certification in Art Exhibition Management from Elisava Design School in Barcelona, Spain. She was an Independent art curator for 10 years, developing projects worldwide in places like New York, Tokyo, Barcelona, Mexico, and Cuba, among others. During this period, as part of the exhibitions’ programs, she developed art and creativity classes for children and adults. Helena always regarded this educational component as one of her job's most fulfilling and favorite parts. 

Her love for art, teaching, and traveling bloomed at a very young age. Her mother is an art teacher, and her father is an anthropologist. At home, she passionately learned the importance of creativity and curiosity in exploring nature and cultures.

Helena taught art classes at the University of Jose Maria Vargas and in Private Art Institutes in Caracas, Venezuela, and she has been invited to talk about art and activism at Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Cervantes Institute Tokyo. In 2018, Helena experienced the most amazing gift in her life, she became a mother. From that moment, her approach to teaching art took a different and more beautiful pathway as she started to apply her passion for creation to her daily parenting dynamics. Helena quickly fell in love with the philosophy of Waldorf when she enrolled her daughter at The Playgarden and enthusiastically started to work as at Spring River School, bringing to the classroom her love for creativity and discovery, finding magic in everyday objects and nature. She is also the founder of a home-based art studio for children called Jax Little Art.