Cynthia Aldinger is the founder and Executive Director of LifeWays North America. Co-author of the book Home Away from Home: LifeWays Care of Children and Families, Cynthia has lectured and presented internationally, directs trainings and seminars across North America, and is an adjunct faculty member at Rudolf Steiner College in California. She served fourteen years on the board of Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America and was a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher for many years after she received her Waldorf teaching certificate at Emerson College in Sussex, England. A mother and grandmother, Cynthia's passion is the preservation of the playful spirit of childhood and helping to create early childhood environments that provide the comfort, security and activities found in a healthy home.