Our Staff
All classroom guides hold NJ teaching certificates.
RVCS staff are certified in Wilderness First Aid and CPR.
Ieva Alverson
Nova Guide
Ieva Alverson lives a life of wonder in northwestern NJ. She believes conflict, contrast and silence hold the answers to her questions. Ieva has been a guide at the Ridge and Valley Charter School since 2007. She believes strongly in the school’s mission, education for a hopeful sustainable future, and strives to empower children to stewardship based on a deep love of the earth and respect for the planet’s systems and interconnectedness. Ieva has spent her life’s work in relationship and feels that Thomas Berry’s work evokes the awareness needed for earth’s next phase for humanity. Until then, she is loving the challenge of discovering her true nature. She is a certified yoga teacher and recently completed the Inner Life of the Child in Nature training certification. Ieva enjoys baking, yoga, kayaking, singing, wandering and gathering.
Education:
MA Special Education, New Jersey City University
BA Elementary Education and Psychology, Caldwell College (NJ)
Nancy Christian
Constellation Guide
Nancy grew up in the Morris/Warren county area of New Jersey. She lived in different parts of the country as well as abroad before settling back in the area with her daughter. Nancy began working as a full-time guide at RVCS in 2012. She brings a diverse background with her, with experiences ranging from teaching reading to adults in the New York prison system to being an FAA certified flight instructor and flight school operator. Nancy has also designed and organized aeronautical science camps, youth programs, and college aviation programs. She is a certified Horse Powered Reading and Math Instructor, providing equine assisted literacy and math programs for learners. She is passionate about finding ways to incorporate the connection between animals and students to support students with learning challenges by finding ways to bypass anxiety and more readily access academic success. Nancy enjoys spending time with her family, camping, open water swimming, trail running, SCUBA diving, traveling and learning about other cultures.
Education:
MA Education, College of St. Elizabeth (NJ)
BA Arts, History and Anthropology, Marymount College (NY)
Dan Egan 
Galaxy Guide
Dan grew up in northern Maryland and moved to northwest New Jersey to teach outdoor education. He has stayed in the area because of RVCS, where he can combine his passions for teaching and outdoor education. Dan joined the RVCS community in 2013. His eclectic background, including a tour in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, and a year backpacking through South America, makes Dan a great addition to the RVCS community. Dan enjoys camping, waterskiing in the Adirondacks, and traveling abroad. He lives in Stokes State Forest with his wife and three children.
Education:
BS Wildlife Conservation, University of Delaware
Michael Florio
Constellation Guide
Mike grew up in nearby Sussex County, and has been a Guide at RVCS since 2005. He is inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner, bringing his growing understanding of Anthroposophy and biodynamic agriculture into his work with students. He facilitates hands-on work with students such as building root cellars to store vegetables grown by the students, cooking, and spoon carving to introduce colonial crafts. Mike enjoys cooking and gardening on his small farm with his wife and children.
Education:
BS Education, East Stroudsburg University (PA)
Kyle Freeman 
Galaxy Guide
Kyle was born and raised in Dingmans Ferry, PA, near the Delaware River. He has worked on flower farms in both Maine and western New York and ran a market garden while in college. In addition to his farming experience, he also experiments with hydroponic systems and has a deep interest in the future of sustainable technology. Joining RVCS in 2021, Kyle considers himself a lifelong learner and believes that the school setting truly is his niche. He enjoys bodies of water, observing insects and spiders, snowboarding, music, art, and exploring the Delaware River Valley.
Education:
AA Agricultural Technology, Alfred State (NY)
BA English, The State University of New York at Geneseo
Becky Garceau
Nova Guide
Becky has a love for sociology, community service, and the natural world. While at Centenary College, she participated in three expeditions to New Orleans to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Becky has furthered her education in Earth Literacy, Sustainability, Experiential and Outdoor Education, and Project Based Learning since she started working at RVCS in 2009. Becky enjoys spending time with her husband and children, hiking with her dogs, tending to her chickens, needle felting, and cooking and preserving food.
Education:
BA Sociology/Elementary Education, Centenary College (NJ)
Alyssa Garner
Stardust Guide
Alyssa grew up in Connecticut and first came to the area to work as a Park Ranger in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Alyssa has been a Guide at RVCS since 2011. Earlier in her career, Alyssa led outdoor adventure trips for students and worked as an environmental educator at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center. Passionate about service to others, Alyssa was also a teacher trainer focusing on literacy development during her tour in the Peace Corps. Alyssa enjoys camping, swimming, and introducing her two young children to the wonders of the natural world.
Education:
BA Elementary Education with a minor in Special Education, Loyola University (MD)
Mark Garner
Galaxy Guide
Mark joined the RVCS community in 2012 after moving from Pennsylvania to Northwest New Jersey. As a child, he developed a passion for learning about the natural world, and he continues to work to inspire his students to do the same. Mark has had experience as an environmental educator at various nature centers and as a National Park ranger at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and enjoys helping others see the interconnectedness of the natural world. Mark brings his passions for watershed education, botany, and history, as well as outdoor recreation, into his teaching on a regular basis. He enjoys spending time outside in his gardens, as well as camping and hiking with his family.
Education:
BS Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management, The Pennsylvania State University
Sundae Greame
Stardust Guide
Originally from Andover, New Jersey, Sundae recently moved to Warren County with her husband and four young children. Her professional experience features notable positions including AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador and Watershed Liaison at the Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge, prior joining RVCS in 2006. Sundae enjoys leading hands-on educational activities for children, particularly sewing, wet needle felting, cooking, and natural dyeing. Outside of her professional life, Sundae enjoys engaging in outdoor activities with her family and caring for their flock of ducks and geese.
Education:
BS Marine Biology, Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ)
Julia Kelly
Stardust Guide
Julia has lived in New Jersey for most of her life. She and her husband moved to Sussex County in 2013 and she joined the RVCS community in 2018. She and her husband moved to Sussex County in 2013. She has experience developing curriculum with the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education and loves to share outdoor hands-on experiential learning with students. She has a special education certification from Saint Elizabeth’s College. Julia is an avid gardener and received her Master Gardener Certification from Rutgers University. She is passionate about native plant cultivation and runs a food pantry garden at her community garden. Julia and her husband enjoy traveling throughout the US and camping at national parks. Julia was at one time a professional pastry chef and still loves to bake and share her recipes with others. She enjoys biking, hiking and skiing, playing the guitar and singing and spending time with her husband, four adult children, and granddaughter.
Education:
BA Psychology/Elementary Education, Centenary University (NJ)
Milly Paulson
Support Guide
Milly grew up in the Blairstown area and has always been an avid fan of the natural world. A 2011 RVCS graduate, she and her siblings all attended RVCS. Before returning to RVCS as a support guide in 2020, Milly worked as an experiential educator at local camps, farms, and outdoor centers. Milly enjoys drawing, hiking, playing board games, and spending time with her family and their pets.
Education:
AA Liberal Arts, Excelsior College (NY)
Jessica Towle 
Stardust Guide
Jessica grew up in the Ridge and Valley region of New Jersey. As a teenager she discovered Genesis Farm after searching for a deeper context of meaning in her life. She spent time studying cosmology in the hopes of gaining perspective about the role of the human in the natural world. She has immersed herself in study at The Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World and Pickards Mountain Eco Institute, both located in North Carolina, where she had the privilege of working with amazing mentors in the fields of cosmology, education, anthroposophy, wild edibles, medicinal plants, and sustainability. In 2005 she earned certificates in permaculture and natural building while living in the Patagonia region of Argentina. She also is a graduate of the Inner Life of the Child in the Nature program. After traveling, studying, and working in various places she returned to our ridge and valley bioregion, her bone country, to continue this work at Genesis Farm, and later joined the Ridge and Valley Charter School community in 2016. Jessica has many passions, including raising her two wonderful boys, hula hooping, acro yoga, studying plants, and just being in the woods.
Education:
BA Sustainable Community Development, Prescott College (AZ)
Tyler Thurgood
Galaxy Guide
Tyler grew up in the Blairstown area. After graduating from Blair Academy, he spent some time traveling and living on the southeast and western coasts of the US. He developed a passion for writing as a way to share and connect stories. Tyler returned to the Blairstown area to raise a family. Since graduating from Centenary University, he looks for ways to connect language with creativity and the interconnectedness of the world around him. After joining the RVCS community in 2016 as a support guide, he became a full-time classroom guide in 2018. Tyler’s passions include spending time with his family, hiking, traveling, poetry, novels, music, and cultivating friendships. The world has always been a classroom for Tyler, and he sees the RVCS mission as one that he can both learn from and support. He is interested in pursuing his passions while endeavoring to better understand his place in the universe.
Education:
BA English, Centenary University (NJ)
Kris Tucker
Nova Guide
A native of Sussex County, Kris joined the RVCS community in 2013 after her son began attending the school. Kris has a diverse professional background, with experience teaching elementary education, special education, and middle school literacy. As a staff developer, she has trained other teachers in the finer points of literacy and reading education. She enjoys sharing her passions for lifelong learning, experiential learning, place-based and outdoor education, humane education, reading, and writing with her students.
Education:
EdD Higher Education and Adult Learning, Walden University (MN)
MA Special Education, Kean University, (NJ)
BA Social Work, Kean University (NJ)
Maggie Vetter
Galaxy Guide
Maggie, whose children are both current students and graduates of RVCS, is a native of the Highlands area of northwestern New Jersey, where she continues to live with her family. Before joining RVCS in 2009, she taught for over a decade at various NJ public middle schools and high schools. She has also worked as a developmental interventionist and therapist for children with autism. In addition to Maggie’s masters in Integrated Learning, she is certified in special education, K-12 and Middle School Math. Maggie brings the RVCS philosophy into her home life, where she and her family enjoy the benefits of growing and preserving their own food, raising chickens, milking goats, and generating alternative sources of energy for their home. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of health, nutrition, hiking, gardening, and making goat milk paint, soap, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream.
Education:
BS in Elementary Education (Specialization in Middle School Math and Special Education), West Virginia University (WV)
M Ed Integrated Learning, Endicott College (MA)
Bradley White
Constellation Guide
Bradley grew up in Fredon, New Jersey, just a few miles down the road from RVCS. His deep knowledge and connection to the land can be traced back to his childhood in the area. Bradley joined the RVCS community in 2006. Before coming to RVCS, he worked as a field biologist and environmental educator and brings his passion for these things to his work with the students of RVCS on a daily basis. When he isn’t at RVCS, Bradley can be found birding, playing music, hiking, snowboarding and camping with his wife and daughter.
Education:
BS Ecology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Jocelyn “Jojo” Carlson
Support Guide
Jocelyn (Jojo) grew up in the Blairstown area and has always felt a connection to the natural world. She joined RVCS in 2024 after completing an Americorps term through Montclair State University’s “Healthy Community Corps” program. Her passion for working with children was sparked during her internship at Montclair Community Farms, where she helped promote ecological literacy in an urban setting. Jojo holds a 200-hour yoga teacher training certification, which she hopes to use to help students connect to the earth and each other through movement. She loves spending her free time making sourdough bread, cooking, gardening, traveling, running, and simply being in nature.
Education:
BS Sustainability Science, Montclair State University (NJ)
Ellie Haveman
Galaxy Guide
Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ellie has spent much of her life moving around the country. Before moving to New Jersey and joining the staff of RVCS in 2024, she spent time as a wildland firefighter and ski instructor in the western United States. Ellie is passionate about soil science, fire science, trail running, skiing, and any other outdoor activity she can do with her dog, Etta. Ellie is excited to bring her love of digging in dirt and climbing in trees to RVCS to help promote curiosity about the world around us.
Education:
BS Environmental Science and Land Rehabilitation, Montana State University
Clara Miller
Support Guide
After 6 years in Vermont, Clara returned to her hometown of Blairstown to join the RVCS community in 2024. In Vermont, she worked as a portrait artist and a tree nursery attendant before earning her BA in Ecology. She believes Ecology is especially suited to holistic, interdisciplinary learning, as it is by definition a study of interconnection. Clara is a strong proponent of human education: cultivation of engagement, creativity, compassion, and curiosity before grades. At Sterling College, she served as head of the Learning Center and teaching assistant for the school’s Southwest Field Semester. In these roles, she integrated sciences, humanities, and expedition practicum to foster an immersive learning environment. She enjoys playing an active role in her community and loves to connect over creative writing, games, art, music, and time spent outdoors.
Education:
BA Ecology, Sterling College (VT)
Kara Malone
Nova Guide
Kara joined RVCS staff in 2024 after already experiencing being a parent of RVCS students. Previously, she’s explored the fields of outdoor education, naturalist, homeschooling (pre-school) and world-schooling her three children. Driven by an insatiable thirst for awe and exploration, Kara and her husband and three children traverse the globe at every opportunity, seeking solace in the untamed beauty of nature and cultural diversity, fostering inner growth, as well as gratitude for and connection to our mother Earth. Her nomadic spirit dances to the rhythm of adventure, embracing the unconventional and the uncharted with open arms. Kara desires to plant the seeds of connection to the Earth and the Universe in each child she encounters and to nurture the seeds to grow deep, foundational roots. She is also a macrame jewelry artist using seeds and bioregional objects to enliven her art.
Education:
BS Biology, William Paterson University (NJ)
Dena Pheonix Carl
Constellation Guide
A founding guide at RVCS, Dena returned to RVCS in 2024. After nine years as a Guide, she left RVCS to devote her time to her family until both of her children began attending RVCS. Dena’s enthusiasm and dedication to the ancient arts and the natural world, through her experience with sound therapy, fiber arts, poetry, and circle work, has been inspiring, motivating, and transforming for those with whom she has been in relationship, both adults and children alike. She brings those experiences, as well as her extensive experience with Montessori education and interdisciplinary curriculum design, to our community. Dena is filled with a renewed sense of joy and reverence as she continues her journey, deepening her understanding of earth literacy, through a deep time lens of the Universe Story and cosmology.
Education:
BS Elementary Education, University of Maryland
Staff
Robin Balles
Infrastructure Coordinator
Robin grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania, where she split her time between forest, farm and lake. She lived and studied in Italy, Panama, Atlanta, NYC and Jersey City before moving to Blairstown in 2021 and joining the RVCS community as the Infrastructure Coordinator. Prior to her work at RVCS, Robin worked as a multidisciplinary environmental designer in architecture, landscape and urban design. She is passionate about biophilia, integrating this with holistic design problem solving to address social and environmental needs across various scales. An avid gardener, she has led garden design, activities and educational programming in a community garden setting. Robin loves to help others explore, discover, and foster their own creativity. She enjoys anything aquatic, as well as creating artwork, biking and camping with her family.
Education:
M Urban Design, The City College of New York
BS Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University
Lisa Masi
Integration Coordinator, Leadership Team
Lisa, a founding guide, was exploring alternatives to traditional education when she discovered RVCS. While her two youngest children were benefiting from an RVCS education, Lisa also joyfully explored the universe as a guide for the school’s youngest students from 2004-2018. A part-time member of the Leadership Team since 2008, she took on a full-time role in 2018. Lisa has a background in early childhood education, alternative educational practices, place-based and project-based education, and educating for sustainability. She has developed curriculum through The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Trail to Every Classroom program, and is involved with the Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy at Shelburne Farms. Lisa has an ongoing interest in farm-based education and obtained her Permaculture Design Certificate with a focus in permaculture education for children. A member of the Community Supported Garden at Genesis Farm for over 25 years, she is passionate about guiding children in the deepening understanding of, and connection to, our bioregion, particularly through experiences with local farms and food. Lisa loves to sing and is grateful for the RVCS assemblies that foster a sense of community among students, guides, and families. In addition to singing, Lisa enjoys hiking, swimming, ice skating, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets.
Education:
M Ed Educating for Sustainability, Antioch University New England (NH)
BA Geology, Colgate University (NY)
Toni Mazzariello
Nurse/School Health Coordinator
Toni was born and raised in central New Jersey and relocated to Warren County over 30 years ago to raise a family. Before returning to Warren County, she spent time hiking, backpacking, and working as a chef while traveling in Europe and Australia. Toni has organized multiple backpacking expeditions on the Appalachian Trail for teens as a 4-H leader, as well as taught holistic health classes, organic gardening, and herbal medicine to homeschoolers at Fireside Academy. Toni has been practicing holistic healthcare for over 25 years and has worked as a med-surg nurse, school nurse, and hospice nurse for over a decade. She is also certified in Clinical Aromatherapy and Reiki Level III, in addition to holding a NJ School Nurse Certification. She loves spending time with her family and being a grandparent. Toni has a passion for organic gardening, playing with dogs, wild crafting, making herbal medicine, cooking and spending time outdoors. She joined the RVCS community in 2020 and believes a classroom without walls in the natural world can open the mind and the heart to cultivate love and respect for nature.
Education:
M Ed Curriculum and Learning (School Nurse Instructional), William Paterson University (NJ)
BSN Nursing, Moravian College (PA)
Traci Pannullo
Curriculum Coordinator, Leadership Team
Traci grew up in central New Jersey. She spent time out west, returning in 1998 and starting a family. Traci joined the Trustee circle in 2003, and then became the Curriculum Coordinator and a member of the Leadership Team after the school opened. Traci has a great respect for and kinship with the natural world, and uses that as a foundation to learn about and promote actions that are in alignment with the elemental processes of the universe, helping shape the school and its mission. She brings together her beliefs and practices of alternative forms of education, including Montessori, Waldorf, and Democratic, at RVCS. Traci enjoys organic gardening, cooking, yoga and tai chi, singing, making art, dancing, drumming, and spending time with her family. She is proud and grateful that all three of her children have had the opportunity to attend RVCS, and cannot imagine a more wonderful school experience for them.
Education:
Post-Master’s Ed. Leadership Program, Thomas Edison State College (NJ)
MA Science (Elementary Science Specialist), Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ)
BS Elementary Education, The College of New Jersey
BA Psychology, The College of New Jersey
Jennifer Ross
Business Coordinator
Jen spent her childhood in New Jersey and had never heard of Blairstown until, as an adult, she went to an RVCS open house. Jen is the mother of two RVCS graduates, one a US Marine and the other currently attending Ithaca College. She is a member of Blue Star Mothers of North Warren NJ. She fell in love with the area, community and the school and relocated to Blairstown in 2012. Jen first became involved with the school as a parent volunteer, and then began working as a Guide in 2010. In her free time, Jen enjoys volunteering, hiking, reading, and cross-stitching.
Education:
Gannon University (PA)
Nicole Bostdorff
Lunch Program Support Guide
Nicole was a teacher for seven years and, after a hiatus raising her family, she joined RVCS as a substitute after her children were enrolled. Nicole began her role as the Lunch Program Support Guide in 2024. She has always felt connected with nature due to her experiences as a competitive mountain biker, and now a gravel cyclist. She has competed and medaled in 24 hour races, state series and regional competitions, and multi day stage races, and held the title of New Jersey State Champion Women’s Beginner Division. Nicole has since utilized her skills to host kid’s clinics at bicycle events. She is an active volunteer of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, through which her oldest son races. Along with cycling, she and her husband and their three children frequent New England to explore the Long Trail and summit some of the highest peaks the area has to offer. She also dedicates her time to trail maintenance working with state organized trail associations and advocates for the progression of thriving trail networks that promote sustainability within the forest.
Education:
MAT, Monmouth University (NJ)
BA, York College of PA
Tina Manning
Child Study Team Coordinator
Tina moved to NJ when she was a child. She spent her childhood in Sussex county and has since lived in various locations across the state. After high school she worked at Saint Barnabas Medical Center as a patient transporter and Histology Technician. She left Saint Barnabas to manage a medical practice and over the next ten years lived a very active life aboard boats, scuba diving around the world. She loves diving and being in the silent world of the oceans. She returned to Sussex County as an adult and raised her daughters there. She has worked as a School Psychologist in various schools in northwest NJ and joined RVCS as a leave replacement coordinator in 2023. She moved into the role full time the following year. Tina loves the mission of RVCS and the supportive staff, alternative education focus, and the focus on teaching the whole child.
Education:
MA Counseling, Jersey City State College (NJ)
BA Humanities, Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ)
Christine O’Donnell
Administrative Support Guide
Christine is thrilled to have joined the Ridge and Valley Charter School community in 2024, where her personal values align so deeply with the school’s mission of fostering interconnectedness, sustainability, and outdoor experiential learning. As a parent of RVCS students, she feels deeply connected to the school’s vision and is inspired daily by its innovative approach to education.
In addition to her role at the school, Christine owns her own tallow-based skincare company focused on clean, non-toxic, and sustainable products. Her passion for natural living and holistic wellness extends beyond her business; she is also an experienced certified yoga teacher. During the summer months, she combines her love of nature and yoga by teaching outdoor classes with alpacas, offering a truly unique and joyful experience. She is a former dancer, having owned and operated her own dance studio where she nurtured creativity and community while managing a thriving business. These experiences have given her a diverse skill set in administration, organization, and fostering meaningful connections.
Education:
BA Individualized Study, New York University
Ed Molinski
Facilities Support Guide
With a wealth of experience in campus security, maintenance, landscaping and janitorial services, Ed joined RVCS in 2024 to support our campus buildings and land.
CONSULTANTS
Kira Macedo
Speech/Language Pathologist
Kira grew up in the Lehigh Valley where she continues to reside with her husband and young daughter. While at East Stroudsburg University, she was the secretary of ESU’s National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. Completing internships at both medical and school placements, including abroad in St. Croix allowed Kira the opportunity to work with individuals of all ages with a wide variety of disabilities. Kira is passionate about providing client-led and play-based therapy whenever possible. She welcomes diversity and encourages individuality in her therapy sessions. In her free time, Kira enjoys gardening, hiking, kayaking, and traveling. She is thankful to have had the opportunity to travel to 13 countries to date and looks forward to continuing to explore the world with her family.
Education:
MS Communication Sciences and Disorders, East Stroudsburg University (PA)
BS Communication Sciences and Disorders, East Stroudsburg University (PA)
Morgan Amels
Occupational Therapist
Morgan grew up in Bergen County and moved to Sussex five years ago. She started practicing as an occupational therapist in 2021. She believes that her life values align very closely with RVCS. When not practicing OT, Morgan enjoys gardening, cooking and baking (especially mastering the art of homemade sourdough), camping with my family, arm-knitting, taking care of chickens with her son, and spending time appreciating nature. Coming from a family of farming ancestors, she appreciates nature and living off the land. Becoming a mother over the last few years has also expanded her love for pediatrics and has helped her gain new perspectives when working with school-aged children so that she can help connect with them (and their parents) on a deeper level.
Education:
AAS Occupational Therapy Assistant, Eastwick College (NJ)
Noelle Brock
Counselor
Noelle has been working in the mental health field since 2014 in different settings and with varying populations. She focuses on a person-centered approach that empowers each individual to find their inner strength. Noelle has a passion for helping people find their voice and grow to be their best selves by giving them a safe space, supporting them, and showing respect for the individuality of everyone. In her free time, Noelle enjoys hiking, camping, playing with her pets and reading.
Education:
MA Counseling Psychology and School Counseling, College of Saint Elizabeth (NJ)
BA Psychology, College of Saint Elizabeth (NJ)