The Team

Michelle Becka received her Primary Montessori Diploma from Montessori Northwest in 1997, and her MEd from Loyola University in the same year. After working with young children for 17 years in a classroom in beautiful Portland, Oregon, she entered the AMI Training of Trainers Programme. She achieved full Trainer status in 2017.

Michelle currently works as a Teacher Education Designer and Instructor at Bezos Academy. She very much enjoys working with the adult learners and creating opportunities for them to grow and develop on their Montessori journeys. She is especially committed to continuing to learn and expand her own personal understanding of what it means to be an anti-bias and anti-racist educator. As an Instructor, Michelle is dedicated to ensuring that conversations about bias, racism, identity and intersectionality are a continual part of the courses that she designs and offers. She hopes that the adult learners leave with a strong understanding of how to create a culturally inclusive environment for all children and families in their communities.

Alva Waller Dial is Chief Executive Officer of Legal Resolutions Inc. (LRI), specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Alva spent over 20 years as a lawyer in the public sector, working as a trial attorney and later as staff and managing attorney for the Office of the Monitor for Pigford v. Vilsack (D.D.C.), a class action lawsuit involving more than 22,000 African American farmers suing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging race discrimination. Currently she serves as Deputy Ombudsman for the In re Black Farmers discrimination lawsuit against USDA.

Working with claimants, class counsel, advocacy groups and other stakeholders, Alva has gained extensive experience overseeing and coordinating the implementation of consent decrees and compliance measures. In her role as Deputy Ombudsman, Alva serves as a mediator for litigants and makes recommendations to the court on issues related to the implementation of the settlement agreement.

Prior to her work on Pigford v. Vilsack and In re Black Farmers, Alva served as a public defender for the First Judicial District of Minnesota, where she handled a variety of adult criminal matters through trial and represented court–involved youth in delinquency proceedings. She also served as guardian ad litem in child protection matters where she was first appointed to oversee a family court custody case.

Tim Nee is the Managing Director of the Montessori Training Center Northeast (MTCNE) in Hartford, CT. Tim has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University of PA and did both his graduate degrees in Curriculum, Supervision and Administration from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He was the former Assistant Executive Director of Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) and the former principal of the highly successful CREC Montessori Magnet School in Hartford, CT. During his tenure, the school was twice selected by Magnet Schools of America (MSA) as a “School of Excellence” and named the recipient of the MSA Eugene M. Uram Award as the most outstanding Public Montessori Magnet School in the United States. He provides a variety of national consulting services through MTCNE. Tim has taught graduate courses in early childhood education as an adjunct professor as well as being a founding faculty member at the Center for Montessori Studies at the University of Hartford. He has published book chapters and articles on creating Montessori Magnet Schools and has through MTCNE developed nine current satellite AMI training center locations both nationally and internationally. He is fortunate to live part time in Spain with his husband, Bob, and loves to spend as much time as he can with his now adult children and grandchild.

I received my AMI Elementary Diploma from Bergamo, Italy, in 1975 and have worked in Montessori schools ever since. 10 years teaching in Upper and Lower Elementary classrooms were followed by over 30 years of Montessori school administration in 3 public, 3 private, and 1 charter Montessori school. I have a bachelor’s degree in Education, a master’s in educational administration, an Education Specialist degree in School Administration, and Doctoral coursework in Urban Leadership and Policy Studies. My wife, Martha, and I are both lifetime members of AMI and all three of our children attended Montessori schools.

From 1988 to 2005 I helped to establish the Montessori Public Schools in Kansas City Missouri as part of the desegregation court order for that city. I also helped startup the first charter Montessori School in Fort Collins, Colorado. My experience in public, private, and charter Montessori schools has made me aware that each model has its own unique set of needs as well as commonalities that can be supported by AMI/USA.