Crystal is an avid organic gardener. She used to teach beginner organic gardening classes at Honeyville Farms and even wrote and published a book about it. She has done volunteer work for over a decade in the community as a former La Leche League leader. Her passion for being an advocate for children and the family unit in choosing natural, healthy lifestyles led her to being an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant for several years. She was also a natural childbirth instructor for ten years as well and even had a tub rental business at one point for mothers who chose to birth at home.

Crystal has four children. Her oldest has an art degree–with some of her love for art blossoming from her time she attended during middle school here at Desert Marigold School. Her second child graduated from the Desert Marigold High School in 2019. Crystal has a lot family around the valley and has a niece attending at DMS as well. She was initially drawn to Waldorf Education in an effort to be truer to her convictions that learning with a holistic approach is healthier for children and allowing them to learn in a gentle, harmonious environment leads to children thriving in both academics and in character. She loves seeing South Mountain in the distance from the school grounds since she hikes there regularly and has done so for twenty years. In her spare time she also enjoys reading, writing and learning about historical figures. She is honored to work in such a beautiful environment and surrounded by faculty with integrity who are willing and open to thinking outside the box.

This is her family’s fifteenth year at the school, and her tenth year as a staff member with experience in both the grades and the high school. She started out as the instructional assistant in the fifth grade year for the graduated class of 2023, and she cherishes all of the years she had to work with them as their class co-sponsor. “DMS is like a second home to me–there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”