Our Team
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William Ayers - Founding Board Member
Bill is an alternative home designer and builder specializing in high efficiency solar passive homes on the prairie.
He has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida and is a 2016 graduate of the Earthship Biotecture Academy in Taos, NM.
Bill also received his full degree in Biotecture in 2019 from Earthship Biotecture - Taos, NM.
He is a former treasurer and board member for Prairie Moon Waldorf School. He also was a member of the fundraising and finance committees there for several years.
Bill is pitching in to help build an amazing high school experience for his two boys who are in the class of 2031 and 2033. -

Kerstin Smith - Humanities Teacher & Admin
Kerstin has spent decades teaching in colleges, churches, and schools, working with a variety of ages. Her oldest daughter is who first brought her to Waldorf Education in 2014 and she has been involved in Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired education ever since. She has formal Waldorf teacher training through the Center for Anthroposophy and will now head up the Faculty at Sun Prairie and teach classes in the Humanities and Performing Arts.
Kerstin brings a diverse background in Music Education, Drama, Theology, and Healing. She is a skilled presenter, offering workshops, trainings and retreats. She also served for over a decade as a Doula and Childbirth Educator and is the founder of LiveFRe Collaborative Healing.
Outside of her work, she enjoys time in nature, good stories, and great theater. She moved to Topeka with her family from Wisconsin in 2022 and is excited to be a part of this life changing endeavor!
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Kim Pikul - Founding Board Member
Kim is an attorney who has primarily practiced immigration and environmental law.
She began her post-law school career as the first director of the EarthRights School in Thailand, a transformational training program for environmental and human rights activists from across Southeast Asia equiping activists with the skills, tools, and networks necessary to mobilize and lead their communities to defend their land, resources, and rights.
She has since worked at non-profits, law firms, and is now in-house counsel. She has been involved in Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired education in various ways through her children since 2013.
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Kevin Smith - Founding Board Member
Kevin has a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Missouri and has led teams at large tech companies for over 15 years.
His 3 children have spent a combined 18 years at Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired schools.
Kevin was the Board President at the Madison Waldorf school in Madison, WI from 2018 - 2021
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Karl Johnson - Mentor to Sun Prairie
Karl David Johnson, M.A., has been an educator for more than 40 years and has taught in the Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired movement since 1986. Currently the Director of Pedagogy at the Mountain Song Community School in Colorado Springs, Karl has also served as Pedagogical Director at Santa Fe Waldorf School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Siskiyou School in Ashland, Oregon and the Kona Pacific Public Charter School on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Karl has taught as a class teacher in Durango, Colorado and Santa Fe Waldorf School and in middle school at the Boulder Valley Waldorf School. Additionally, Karl is a certified Educational Support Specialist and has supported children with learning issues – conducting assessments and developing and implementing support plans.
A founding faculty member of the Santa Fe Waldorf High School, Karl had taught high school music – both Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble - which he founded and directed. He also founded and directed the Wilderness Experience program for the Santa Fe Waldorf High School leading three six-day trips a year with the high school students - including the annual Senior Solo wilderness experience. He has mentored and evaluated Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired high school teachers at several schools and presented workshops for Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired high schools.
An experienced mentor and consultant, Karl has mentored hundreds of teachers at dozens of Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired schools and has trained teachers and conducted workshops in China, Nepal, New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.. He has taught on the summer faculty for the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy in British Columbia, in the Xian Waldorf Teacher Training Program in Xian, China, and as a Foundations Studies course facilitator for Sophia Institute, and as a Practicum Supervisor for Antioch University Waldorf Teacher Training Program. He is currently a teacher trainer instructor on the faculty of Gradalis Institute and also supports teacher trainees with field mentoring. Karl Johnson is the author of the forthcoming book: Honing Our Craft: Pedagogy and Leadership in the Waldorf Classroom.