Meg Butler, Board Co-Chair

Meg is the mother of two girls, both of whom are students at our school. She has been an active parent at the school from the start, helping in the classroom, serving on and leading several committees and now as a Trustee and Board Co-Chair. She made the decision to become a Trustee because, “it is important to learn how to work together – for me, for the world and for the evolution of the human being. Being a Trustee in our Waldorf school and working in consensus has been an opportunity to stretch my capacities toward learning to work together for a greater good.” Ms. Butler spent her childhood in Wyoming, Colorado and Arkansas and then moved here to attend the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she received a BA in Aquatic Biology. In addition she attended a four-year training at the Rosen Institute in Berkeley, California and earned the right to call herself a Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner. “My practice has deepened my respect and interest in the human spirit and has increased my capacity to listen to that spirit.”

David Mietzke, Board Co-Chair

David Mietzke Jr. serves the school as as a Trustee and Board Co-Chair.  He moved to Santa Barbara in 2009 after spending most of his life in Tacoma Washington.  He is married to Angela Mietzke, our Preschool teacher, and has two daughters who attend our school.  While his girls were attending the Tacoma Waldorf School he served on that school’s Board of Trustees for three years, two of them as Board President.  When asked what his inspiration for becoming a Trustee at our school was he said, “I saw a need that I thought I could help to fill.”  He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Pacific Lutheran University, and was later a professor of Theatre there as well.  He has also held many and varied leadership roles in professional theatre companies over the years.

Christopher Montigny, Secretary

Christopher Montigny was born and raised in Santa Barbara.  He earned a BA in International Business from San Diego State University.  In addition he attended the Sorbonne University and the EPSCI Business School in Paris. His experience in business as the owner and operator of Ajax/Santa Barbara Refrigeration is a great asset he brings as a Trustee of the school. He has been running the business, which specializes in commercial refrigeration services in the Santa Barbara area, since 2000.  He is also a member of the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) of Santa Barbara County and their Youth Council, and a member of the Santa Barbara Employer Advisory Council.  He is the father of three boys. “I am inspired by the greater school community as well as the other individuals on the board.  It is a great privilege to help make decisions that directly affect the experience my children will have at their school and it brings my awareness that much closer to the school’s health.”

Kathy Rem, Treasurer

Kathy has spent most of her life in Santa Barbara, where she married her high school sweetheart and they raised their two children. She came to the school at its beginnings in 1984, with her children among the first graduating classes. She joined the Board of Trustees early on and was a committed member for fourteen years. She took some years off, but has now returned to serve the school once again. “The education is beyond comparison for preparing human beings to be the best they can be in this world. I am so proud of my children and together we have learned so much through the pedagogy, the spiritual philosophy, and the way of life that aligns with our family values. To be a part of the initiative feels not only necessary for me right now but the next, right step in my life; to share my enthusiasm and experience and to help keep this education available for the children in our community and the world.” She is a member of the Anthroposophical Society, a graduate of Santa Barbara Business College, and both a self-employed bookkeeper and a full-time Administrative Manager in a successful construction company.

John Ruffin

John is both a Trustee of the school and chair of the POEM (Publicity, Outreach, Enrollment, Marketing) Committee. He is self-employed as principal of The Synergy Group, consulting to public and private organizations, large and small, throughout the United States. He started life in Virginia and spent many years in the Washington DC area before moving to California. Mr. Ruffin earned a BA in History from Davidson College in North Carolina and completed graduate studies in Management and Organization Development at George Washington University and The Fielding Graduate Institute. He says, “I feel the Waldorf education is exactly the right path for my son and have already witnessed a remarkable affect on his creativity, imagination, and sense of wonder as a kindergartener. As a result, I want to promote and ensure the most productive and effective growth of this school possible, for his benefit and that of multitudes of others to follow; and I have also been inspired by the commitment of other members of the board who have invited me to join.”