Gillian Popenuck joined the Board of Singing Cedars in March 2025 and currently serves as President and Chair of the Development Committee. She is also a member of the Finance and Governance Committees. With a background in business management, event planning, and organizational leadership, Gillian brings strong skills in financial management, community cooperation, and team building. She has held numerous community leadership roles and is passionate about fostering connections, engaging people’s unique talents, and strengthening community ties to support the school’s mission.

As an alumni parent of two grades program students, Gillian is inspired by the school’s commitment to nature-based education, fully engaged learning, and its capacity to nurture a deep spiritual connection while raising thoughtful, active citizens. She enjoys homeschooling her three children on their family’s homestead, crafting, celebrating the seasons, and hosting gatherings at their biodynamic farm and community space.

Elizabeth (Liz) Westgerdes joined the Board of Singing Cedars in 2023 and is currently serving her first year as Vice President. She also chairs the Governance Committee and serves on the Finance Committee. With over twelve years of experience as a Business Analyst in the clinical trials, finance, and agrotech industries, Liz now serves as a Senior Business Analyst at FoodChain ID. In this role, she partners with senior leadership on change management, human-centered design, and strategic visioning, balancing the needs of thousands of users with regulatory requirements, executive direction, and development costs. Liz brings expertise in organizational communication, collaborative decision-making, and strategic planning to her service on the board.

As a wife, mother, and community member, Liz is inspired by Singing Cedars’ mission to foster learning and connection. She holds a B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago and an M.A. from Williams College. Outside of her professional work and board service, she enjoys art and gardening.

Richard Glatz joined the Board of Directors in February 2025 as a dedicated supporter of Waldorf inspired education and a parent of two students at Singing Cedars. Drawn to the school’s nature-based, child-centered approach, he was inspired by the care, reverence, and intentionality with which students are met each day. Watching his own children thrive in this environment motivated him to help steward and support the school for the benefit of other families in the community.

Richard holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and has experience teaching both at the college level and in a games-based, analytical thinking skills curriculum for school-aged children in Singapore. He now works in tech as an ontologist, bringing his strengths in conceptual design and information processing to his role on the board.

He’s especially passionate about supporting Singing Cedars in establishing a firm and healthy basis for growth, laying the same kind of thoughtful foundation for the school that the curriculum provides for the children it serves. Outside of work and board service, Richard enjoys cooking and baking, engaging in many things nerdy (especially playful, imaginative games), and being unapologetically goofy, silly, and joyfully ridiculous with his family.

Alea Lobdell joined the Board of Singing Cedars in 2021 and currently serves as a member of the Outreach & Communication Committee. She holds a B.A. in Human Development with an emphasis in Women & Children’s Health Studies from Prescott College and is a Certified Massage Therapist. Alea has worked as a birth doula, birth photographer, and midwife assistant for over a decade, and also brings professional experience in marketing, admissions, customer service, and retail management. Her background reflects a deep commitment to women’s health, education, and community care.

All three of Alea’s children have attended Singing Cedars over the span of 13 years, and she feels passionate about the gifts of Waldorf inspired education. She has lived in Fairfield for 16 years and enjoys hiking, yoga and pilates, art in all forms, reading, writing, and baking with her children. She also loves visiting Arizona, her second home, and traveling whenever possible.