Meet our team
Maria Klemperer-Johnson - Owner, Lead Instructor
Maria is the owner of Hammerstone: Carpentry for Women, head teacher, and lead carpenter on Hammerstone construction projects. Maria’s passion for building, in particular natural building and timber framing is apparent in her work and in her classes. She is a proponent of high performance construction using natural materials.
When not busy running Hammerstone, Maria spends enjoys time with her family and pets, swimming in the finger lakes, and maintaining a small homestead and cider orchard.
Christina Alario - Lead Carpenter, Lead Instructor
Following her passion for creating and a desire to utilize her body and mind, Christina has been in the carpentry and construction industry since 2015. Starting her journey as an apprentice carpenter, she quickly evolved into the roles of lead carpenter and construction manager. Today, as one of the Lead Instructors at Hammerstone, Christina combines her field experience with a natural flair for teaching, empowering students and peers alike with knowledge and confidence.
Always eager to embrace new challenges and continuously learn, Christina thrives on the interaction and fresh perspectives that each new day brings. Outside of Hammerstone, she finds joy and rejuvenation in nature, whether it's hiking with her family, enjoying leisurely walks with her dog, or simply relaxing at home, absorbing the tranquility of her surroundings.
Sophie Vasseur - Apprentice Carpenter and TA
Sophie comes from France and moved to the US in June 2022. In 2023 she started at Hammerstone with a 2-Day Basic Carpentry Skills course, followed shortly by Build an Adirondack Chair in the spring. She was hooked, and joined a cohort of students to attend the entire Tiny House series. She was motivated to be able to learn about wooden construction because in France everything is made of masonry and therefore very different. At the end of the Tiny House course series, Sophie volunteered to help us wrap up construction on the tiny house. In the new year she joined the Hammerstone team as an apprentice carpenter.
On the hobby side, Sophie likes to spend as much time as possible with family and enjoy all the simple moments (games, walks, meals, etc.)
Kimberly Wiman - communications specialist
A physical therapist by profession, Kimberly has always enjoyed working with her hands. She realized her love for carpentry while installing hardwood floors in her house in 2021, after which she took Basic Skills and got hooked on Hammerstone’s incredible learning environment. In 2022 Kimberly took most of the Hammerstone tiny house series, then in 2023 she TA’d them.
Kimberly loves the carpentry process, starting with the imagination and analysis of the design phase all the way through the careful handwork and progressive stages of completing a build. Her first projects were shelters, gates, and feeders for her sheep and chickens. Her most recent project was a major home repair that involved re-sheathing and replacing windows across 20’ of her house. She aspires to build her own house and is looking for land to purchase in the Ithaca/Trumansburg area.
When not making things, Kimberly enjoys reading, DJing, bikepacking, and swimming in the gorges.
You can reach out to her at kimberly@hammerstoneschool.com and see some of her projects at instagram.com/mistihandmade.
Em Moss - Lead Instructor, 2-Day Basic Carpentry Skills
A career in carpentry was always a dream job for Em. They admired people who could fix anything that broke and aspired to be able to remodel their own home one day. An unfulfilling desk job finally pushed them to make a career change and pursue an entry-level position at a local construction and remodeling company. After four years of working as a carpenter, Em is now the Construction Trades teacher at TST BOCES. Em continues to take on small carpentry projects over the summer and during school breaks.
Em became involved with Hammerstone in the summer of 2020 and is hooked on the sense of community and empowerment Hammerstone provides.
Outside of work, Em enjoys spending quality time with their partners and pets. They also enjoy taking walks to Stewart Park, hiking in Ithaca’s Gorges, kayaking on Cayuga Lake, camping and hanging out with friends.
Sarah Grunberg - TA
Sarah joins Hammerstone as a TA after building an Adirondack chair, bookshelf, crate, and a couple of saw horses as a student in 2021. She has continued to take classes and has been a Teaching Assistant at Hammerstone since 2022. She helps her mom run a small B&B outside of Ithaca and also works as an Instructional Designer. When she’s not building, fixing, and organizing things, she enjoys spending time outdoors and traveling.
Saoirse Jones - TA
Saoirse (Sersha) was born in Ithaca and recently moved back to the area after about 15 years away. She has studied film and printmedia and worked in architectural design in Chicago and New York.
Saoirse got to know Hammerstone in a whirlwind summer, when she signed up for half a dozen classes in 2022. It was her recent work in architectural CAD drawing that gave her reason to investigate carpentry. Architects don’t draw with their hands anymore, but buildings are obviously still built that way. While taking classes in the tiny house she had many chances to indulge in the sense of x-ray vision that a cutaway drawing imagines. She likes to understand things like that.
Since those first days, Saoirse has had many sweet opportunities to work with Hammerstone as a TA and volunteer.
Outside of the toolshed, she dotes on her cats and escapes in her art practice.
Suz Newman - TA, Energy efficiency educator
Suz became involved with Hammerstone after taking a timely and inspiring 2-Day Basic Carpentry Skills course in November 2016. At the time, they were working in the trades (HVAC, insulation, and residential efficiency) and looking to expand their skill set. Suz has utilized skills learned through Hammerstone to renovate and refresh their house and has recently accomplished their goal of completely electrifying their home! (No more gas meter! #ElectrifyEverything) After helping out on the Hammerstone staff behind the scenes and TA-ing and teaching several courses through the years, Suz is excited to continue to share the community, inspiration, and knowledge that are inherent in every Hammerstone course! When not tinkering around the house, Suz can be found knitting, hanging out with their dogs and cats, canoeing, or playing hockey.
Kelly Cobb - TA
Kelly is a self pro-claimed diy-er when it comes to home improvements and building projects. Kelly came to Hammerstone as a student in a 2-Day Basic Carpentry Skills class in the Summer of 2021 and took a deep dive into further home improvement projects and volunteering with the local Habitat for Humanity group. Starting in Spring of 2022, she started working as a Teaching Assistant with some of the Basic Skills classes. Kelly works as an accountant for a global company and found that spending free time doing various wood-working and DIY projects provides a good balance to a fast-paced business environment.
In her free time, Kelly enjoys hiking, farmers markets, and trying new experiences in Ithaca. Occasionally, you can find Kelly competing in local Strongman weightlifting competitions!
Carrie Sawyer - TA
I’ve always enjoyed working on projects with my dad growing up. I began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity a few years ago and realized a strong passion to learn as much as possible. I continue to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity a few days each week. I TA when I can with Hammerstone and I’m looking forward to the new skills, and knowledge I will gain taking classes at Hammerstone this year.