Meet Our Staff

Linda has been the business manager at Friends School of Minnesota since September 2017.

She has a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College and a Professional Certificate in Publication Design from Georgetown University. After college, she did a three-year stint as a community development worker in Bolivia.

Linda has been an entrepreneur most of her adult life, first as a graphic designer and later as a personal historian. She also served as the Executive Director of the Association of Personal Historians for six years.

Linda is a tenth-generation Quaker who first attended the Minneapolis Friends Meeting when she was just nine days old. She has been a member there ever since. Linda has been working on a history of the Quakers in Minnesota for several years and has struggled to find the time to finish it (maybe after retirement?). Linda also participates in a volunteer committee working on publishing a history of the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. She loves volleyball, genealogy research, reading and travel.

Michelle has been a bookkeeper at Friends School of Minnesota since October 2017.

She has a B.A. in Fine Arts from Western Illinois University. She has spent her bookkeeping career in the construction industry, working for mechanical contractors and architectural/engineering firms.

She is thrilled to work in a place whose values so closely align with her values.

She lives in Minneapolis with her dog, Yuki. She enjoys vegan cooking, dancing, ice skating, house projects and taking advantage of the amazing natural places in the twin cities.

In addition to over 30 years experience in technology, Paula brings a lifetime of social justice work and activism to the Friends School.

Paula is the author of “The Transgender Myth”, a mental health counselor, domestic violence advocate and US Senate candidate.

Sara has served as the Assistant Head of School since July of 2018. She joined the FSMN community as the Spanish specialist in 2012. She also served as FSMN’s librarian for two years and a middle school advisor for three years.

Sara earned a B.A. in Spanish from Trinity College, Connecticut with a minor in Latin American Studies. She earned an M.A. in Hispanic literature from Indiana University. She attended Middlebury College’s Spanish Language Summer Institute. She has taught Spanish for over twenty years to all levels from pre-school to grade 12, including eight years at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Chicago, IL. She is deeply rooted in the practices and philosophy of progressive education.

Sara lives in Edina with her two children. She enjoys musical theater, golf, cycling, travel, international studies, spiritual studies and embracing nature in every way possible. Sara spends much of her time away from FSMN watching her son compete in baseball and basketball and her daughter compete in swimming. Sara has sung soprano in various productions and choirs throughout her life.

“Friends School of Minnesota is a unique place where a child’s creativity, curiosity and growth all have a place to sing out, be heard and seen every day. It is a place where a teacher’s passion and innovation breathe deeply into the work done in the classroom and in the outdoor experiential learning settings that FSMN creates with such commitment and intentionality. I am proud to be a part of a Quaker, progressive learning community where children are held at the center in all that we do.”

Steve has been the staff coordinator of the Plant Sale, in charge of select facilities functions, community outreach and transportation since 2018. He began teaching middle school science in 1998. He has a B.A. in science from Earlham College and an M.S. in botany from Iowa State University.

Previously, Steve worked as a field biologist and an environmental consultant in North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Colorado, Alaska, and Canada. He has also worked as both an ornithologist and a botanist and loves sharing those interests with students. Who else could get groups of middle schoolers up at 6 a.m. to go birdwatching?

Steve believes hands-on education is best and he is passionate about environmental education. He loves getting middle school students outdoors as much as he can.

“I love working at FSM because progressive education supports learning in the real world. We get the kids out on lots of field trips so they can experience science first-hand.”