Registration opens March 1st
This year’s conference theme Bridging Principles and Practice invites us to explore how the eight AWSNA Principles for Waldorf Schools can live more fully in our classrooms, our governance, and our communities. Together, we will consider how these principles can guide flexible, responsive practices that meet the needs of today’s students and strengthen our schools for the future.
Caitlin Rooney - Conference Chair | summerconf@awsna.org
Keynote Speakers
Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, storyteller, and advocate for the night sky. Since 2023 she has served as General Secretary and President of the Anthroposophical Society in America, representing the Society nationally and internationally.
For over two decades, Mary has worked to raise awareness about the importance of natural darkness and our relationship with the stars. She led the team that established the first International Dark Sky Park in Michigan in 2011, work that later inspired the state to protect over 35,000 acres of land for its natural night skies. She has hosted the weekly public radio program and podcast The Storyteller’s Night Sky for more than thirteen years and is the author of The Star Tales of Mother Goose: For Those Who Seek the Secret Language of the Stars, illustrated by her sister and long-time collaborator Patricia DeLisa.
Mary’s work weaves together spiritual science, astronomy, literature, mythology, and fairy tale to restore a living connection between humanity and the cosmos. Her teaching and research invite audiences to experience the starry heavens as both an environmental and a moral reality that strengthens imagination, wonder, and purpose.
As the opening keynote speaker for the 2026 Association Conference, Bridging Principles and Practice, Mary will help us ground our work in the first AWSNA shared principle, illuminating the spiritual foundation of the human being as a source of renewal for education and for life on Earth.
Dr. Martyn Rawson was born in 1954 in Glasgow, Scotland. He co-founded the York Steiner School in 1980 in England and has subsequently taught in Stuttgart, Michael Hall, Elmshorn, and still currently teaches high school in Hamburg. He has worked for many years in teacher education and is currently Professor of Waldorf Education at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Germany.
Martyn has published widely on educational subjects both in mainstream publishers, in academic journals, and in Waldorf publications and he continues to carry out and publish research, including with international bodies such as UNICEF, the NGO Caritas, the European Commission, and other international organisations. Martyn is Special Educational Advisor for the European Council of Steiner Waldorf Education in Europe, was a member of the College of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum for 15 years, and has given keynotes at several World Teachers’ Conferences.
Jasper van Brakel is President & CEO of RSF, where he leads the organization’s work to raise and deploy capital in ways that reimagine how finance can serve people, communities, and the planet. Under his leadership, RSF advances innovative lending and investment initiatives that align money with purpose and drive systems-level social, environmental, and economic impact.
Before joining RSF in 2018, Jasper served as an operating partner with Armonia, a family office focused on regenerative investment, where he provided strategic investment and leadership support to portfolio companies as both adviser and board member. He was previously a partner at Newpark Capital, a private equity firm dedicated to impact-driven businesses.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Jasper holds a master’s degree in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. In 2024, he joined The Aspen Institute’s Finance Leadership Fellowship Program, further deepening his engagement with global leaders shaping the future of finance.
A recognized thought leader in regenerative and impact finance, Jasper writes and speaks frequently on the power of capital as a tool for change. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, he combines his professional leadership with a personal commitment to building regenerative systems of business and finance.
