Elizabeth Hromada

My first teachers, my parents, were spiritual seekers and my early years were spent living in a siddha yoga ashram, traveling to reservation territories to be welcomed into social and ceremonial life of The People, and communing with our beautiful Earth. This set a core foundation in my being for a path of reverence, empathy and compassion for the wonder, greatness, and beauty of all Creation.

In my adolescent years, my family settled in the mountains of western North Carolina. Here I found my hearts home in the lush forests and rich rivers, and I went on to study ecology at UNC-Asheville. My love for the Earth went deeper in these studies, though my personal instructions were clearly not to follow the path of a scientist. 

My youngest brother was born when I was 21.  Spending ample time with him along with an internship at the Western North Carolina Nature Center, and working in environmental education through Americorps informed me that mine was a path that would involve Nature and young children.

Years later when I became a mother in Sedona Arizona, I held a childcare program in my home for babies and toddlers where we played among the red rocks and marveled at wildflowers…and I knew that I had more to learn. 

The moment I stepped through the gate of Red Earth Waldorf Kindergarten with my 3 1/2 year old and her daddy, I felt a homecoming. Here was a place for nurturing the unfolding child and honoring the human spirit. I was called. 

While becoming a teacher at Red Earth, I dove into the works of Rudolf Steiner while I trained with Rudolf Steiner College.  I was transformed again as my consciousness grew around the mysteries of human development, our place in creation, and our task at this time on Earth.

I returned to the blue ridge mountains with my family to teach at Azalea Mountain School which later became Asheville Waldorf School. There I was blessed to serve many children and families as a lead kindergarten teacher and nursery teacher.

Joining SOLA in 2021 alongside my teenage daughter is a dream becoming more realized. To serve the youngest children on this exquisite mountain with a community striving to create ‘the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible’ is a great honor and blessing.