People
Audrey Todd
Executive Director, Playworker
they/them/theirs
Audrey Todd is the Executive Director and also serves as a cooking instructor and play worker. They are the former Chef & Food Education Director & Farmer with The Forest Playschool as well as their Lead Teacher in the summer programs. For the last 9 years, Audrey has learned alongside children outside whether in a garden, urban farm, outdoor kitchen or woodland environment. Audrey believes in creating outdoor experiential learning environments that foster creativity, resiliency, and healing. They're a seed planter of plants and abolition. They hold a Forest School Teacher Certificate through The Forest School of Canada, are a member of Radical Playworkers Chicago, and have presented at the Midwest Forest School Congress. Audrey serves as a Board Member of Northern Illinois Nature Preschool Association (NINPA). They hold a B.A. from Knox College. They completed Chicago Action Medical's 20-hour Street Medic Training. They love word play, meat, and using all five senses to explore the natural world. While not in the woods, you can find them reading, swimming at the lake, or playing all of the sports in one of Chicago's queer sports leagues.
Maisie Smith
Playworker
any pronouns
Maisie has been working with children of all ages for many years in a variety of settings including summer camps, after school programs, and a homeschool learning community. Maisie loves forming relationships with children around what they are passionate and excited about and especially enjoys being weird and silly together. Maisie has always loved to spend time outside exploring, creating, playing, building, walking, climbing, smelling, watching, swimming, playing soccer...and more! She loves to make art and craft pretty much anything in her free time, whether that's crocheting a hammock for her pet rats, sewing a puppet, or making a painting for a friend. Maisie moved to Chicago in 2021 from her home state of Massachusetts, where she still has lots of family and friends.
Sylvia Snow-Rackley
Playworker
she/her
Sylvia is a passionate student, maker, and ardent Lake Michigan enthusiast who has worked
alongside kids their entire life. From teaching in fish hatcheries in Alaska to rock walls in Ohio
she has grown to love fostering discovery and play in all environments. Sylvia has a love of
learning and her favorite moments in education are uncovering new marvels and whimsy’s of
the world. Outside of Wonder Woods Sylvia can be found dabbling in collage, swimming,
baking, and enjoying the trains of Chicago.
Mark Vanderhoff
Board Member
he/him/his
Mark Vanderhoff and his family have been involved in Wonder Woods (and its predecessor, Forest Playschool) since 2017. Both of his kids began attending as toddlers, and the program has been an invaluable part of their upbringing as urban home-schoolers. Mark grew up in the Metro Detroit area and attended Michigan State University before relocating to Chicago in 2002, eventually settling in Irving Park with his family, their dog (Chauncey Billups Vanderhoff), four rabbits, and a goldfish. He is an aspiring birder and enjoys playing guitar and making things from embroidery and sewing projects to whimsical signage for Wonder Woods events (pictured).
Ben Huizenga
Board Member
he/him/his
Ben Huizenga is delighted to be on the board of Wonder Woods. He is a father of four children, all of whom have enjoyed outdoor and forest play as part of their self-directed education. He loves to see children's play grow into adult work, and wants more families to enjoy what Wonder Woods can offer them. He is a lifelong Chicagoan, and loves reading, magic tricks, puzzles and games, and an Italian sausage now and then.
Elizabeth Lund
Board Member
she/her/hers
Elizabeth Lund has a lifelong interest in alternative education and spent 8 years on staff (plus 7 as a volunteer) at Tallgrass Sudbury School, a self-directed democratic K-12 school in La Grange, IL. At Tallgrass she had the privilege of working with young people as full partners in their education and being part of a living community, while also enjoying the chaos, mess, and serendipity created by a few dozen individuals all pursuing their passions. She also saw firsthand how time outdoors and in nature helps children self-direct and manage their emotions. Sudbury education and unschooling have shaped her philosophy as an educator and a parent in ways that are very aligned with Wonder Woods and the forest school movement. Her experience at Tallgrass and in other jobs has also left her with a strong background in nonprofit management and the ins and outs of running small independent schools.
Elizabeth is a solo parent to an adventurous one year old. She is a writer, reader, and dabbler in various crafts. She enjoys camping and learning about birds and edible plants. After growing up as an Army brat, she has now lived in Chicago for over 20 years. She is a member of First Unitarian Church in Hyde Park, where her son enjoys wandering all over the sanctuary greeting his many supplemental grandparents.