Antonis Stylianou - Vice President

Antonis joined the Prairie Moon Board in 2021. He and his wife, Nea have 2 children; their oldest, Stelios began attending Prairie Moon early childhood in 2011 and he was in the 2021 graduating class. Their youngest daughter, Thekla started in Prairie Moon in 2014. Antonis grew up in Limassol, Cyprus and moved to Lawrence, KS in 1994 to attend the University of Kansas. He is now an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Missouri – Kansas City where he teaches courses in engineering, advanced mathematics, and bioengineering, and conducts research in the areas of biomechanics and orthopaedics. Antonis was drawn to the Waldorf School because of how similar it is to the system of education that he experienced in Cyprus. Over the last ten years he and his wife have seen the positive impact that Prairie Moon has had on their children and are looking forward to continuing being part of this community.

Andrew Roberts - Treasurer

Andrew was raised in Lawrence with a strong sense of community. His formative years taught him to value diversity, curiosity, and compassion. He and his brothers were encouraged to explore and pursue that which gave them joy.

He attended the University of Kansas, earning a degree in Environmental Studies. Upon graduating, he immersed himself in organic farming--working for and learning from a local organic farmer and subsequently growing his own vegetables and running a CSA.  When an opportunity came to move to Woodstock, New York, he jumped at the chance and spent the next eight years there.  He took on large gardening projects and continued to work with organic vegetables as a manager at a local health food store.  In Woodstock, Andrew started a family.  A friend sent a copy of You Are Your Child’s First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin and thus began his journey into the world of Waldorf education.  Andrew’s daughter Iona attended a Waldorf early childhood program in Woodstock.  It was during this time that he began to daydream about one day working with children in a Waldorf setting. 

Andrew moved with his partner and two young daughters back to the Midwest with the goal of returning to the land and farming.  He lives in the county and is currently raising lambs and is back in the garden.   He looks forward to fostering a safe and imaginative environment for children to experience the world while maintaining their sense of wonder.  Andrew approaches children holistically, striving to nourish all aspects of their temperaments and understanding their needs so that they may thrive.

Gwyn Schmidtberger - Faculty Liaison

Gwyn is from Hays, on the western plains. She have lived on both coasts, in Mexico and Germany. She have three children—a high schooler, middle schooler and grade schooler. She has worked with all ages of children in many different areas of education and managed her own Waldorf influenced home daycare in her hometown in 2009-11. introduction to Anthroposophy and the Waldorf school back in 2005 came from an opportunity to translate info for a traveling art exhibit of drawings from Waldorf Kindergarten children while living in Düsseldorf. Her view of education and how a human develops was changed forever. 

Prairie Moon brought Gwyn to Lawrence in 2013, working for five years in all areas of the EC program—Robin’s Nest, Assistant and Lead Teacher—where she received her Waldorf teacher training certification from Sound Circle in Seattle, WA in 2017. Like the spiral of life, we very often find ourselves back to a familiar place to reunite and engage again, giving one an opportunity to share knowledge learned from time spent away.