Nate grew up in Tucson and attended Lineweaver Elementary, Alice Vail Middle School, and University High School. He holds a BA in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Arizona.
In his 20’s, Nate considered becoming a Waldorf teacher and actually visited the Steiner College in Sacramento. He ultimately chose entrepreneurship as a career. He is the inventor of the commercial bike blender used by Starbucks, Jamba Juice and more. This business was acquired in 2008 by Rock the Bike as Nate was hired as CEO of the innovative cargo-bike brand Xtracycle. Xtracycle’s sales grew 6X during Nate’s tenure, and Xtracycle evolved from an accessory company to a leading electric cargo bike brand in the US and abroad. Nate’s love of marketing emergent bicycle concepts brought him to The New Wheel – a category defining electric bike retailer in San Francisco where he acts as Director of Marketing. Independently, Nate consults with small to medium sized businesses in developing brand strategy and in executing marketing plans. Nate’s additional experience in video production, graphic design, management, budgeting and planning make him an asset to TWS and the Board of Trustees.
As a parent, Nate was drawn to Waldorf for the holistic approach to child education and development, and was particularly drawn to Tucson Waldorf School because of the strong community, the caliber of the faculty and administration, and the beauty of the campus.
Nate’s son, Jasper, is in Mr. Sussman’s class and his daughter, Davis, was in Mrs. Sussman’s class through 5th grade. Their family joined TWS in 2015 after returning to Tucson from 10 years living in Berkeley, California. Nate is married to an amazing woman and mother, Kaety Byerley. Kaety and Nate attended UHS together as high schoolers, and reconnected years later. Kaety is a Realtor, a classical musician, and trained as a nurse. Davis is an avid reader and animal lover, and Jasper loves baseball and the outdoors. In his free time, Nate is a cyclist, a runner, an environmentalist, and an armchair political pundit.