Archives: Team Staffs & Boards

Laurie Ewert-Krocker (she/her) is the Director of Training for the International Montessori Training Institute of Ohio in the US and the 12-18 trainer for the AMI 12-18 Diploma Course through the Sydney Montessori Training Centre in Australia.

Laurie was founding head teacher of the Hershey Montessori Adolescent Community in Huntsburg, Ohio. She

Virginia Viscovic holds diplomas at both the AMI Primary and Elementary levels, is Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Levels I and II trained and is a Montessori coach. She is a consultant at the Elementary level and serves as a member of the Consultation Committee for AMI/USA. Virginia has a B.A.

Allyn S. Travis has a bachelor’s degree in English from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in education from Loyola College of Baltimore. She also holds both Primary and Elementary Diplomas from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and has fifty years of experience in Montessori teaching both children and adults.

Mrs.

Jennifer Shields has been an Association Montessori Internationale  primary teacher-trainer since 2010. Jennifer is also a lecturer, examiner, and consultant. She taught primary children for over ten years and now serves as a Director of Primary Training at the Washington Montessori Institute.

Jennifer earned her 3-6 Primary AMI diploma in 1992. Twenty

Molly O’Shaughnessy is an accomplished AMI trainer, consultant, and lecturer. She has led the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota (MCM) for 25 years of expansion, growing a teacher training center into a movement to bring high-quality Montessori education to hundreds of underserved children.

A noted authority in the field of Montessori training,

Janet McDonell became Director of Primary Training at the Washington Montessori Institute in 1996. In addition to her Primary diploma, she also holds AMI diplomas at the Elementary level and for Montessori Special Education. She has over 20 years teaching and administrative work in Montessori schools throughout the U.S. with children

Alejandra Rosas is the Director of Training for the 0-3 level at the Montessori Stoppani Institute in Tijuana, México and Los Angeles, CA. Alejandra has been part of the Montessori Community for over 25 years. She holds AMI 0-3 and 3-6 diplomas and has worked at both levels, serving countless young children

Karey M. Lontz, M.A., Association Montessori International (AMI) Trainer for Assistants to Infancy, holds AMI diplomas for the 0-3 and 3-6 levels. Karey has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, a master’s in education from Loyola College and AMI Teacher Trainer credentials. She has been working in the Montessori

Kazi Chad Dennis is the Office and Bookstore Manager at AMI/USA. Kazi holds a bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies from Howard University. Kazi is passionate about history and social justice issues. Kazi wants AMI/USA staff, membership and the greater Montessori community to know that his job is to support them with

Lynne Breitenstein-Aliberti serves as AMI/USA’s Director of School and Member Operations guiding the AMI Recognition Program and supporting our Membership. In this role, Lynne works with parents, administrators, teachers, trainers, trainees, and consultants, in addition to the wider educational community. With over 25 years of experience within the Montessori community, she

Madison Courtney is the Director of Communications at AMI/USA. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a specialization in child development from Georgetown College, Madison’s academic foundation paved the way for her role as a Montessori educator, a role that fostered her genuine connection with students and their learning processes. Transitioning

Sheri received her AMI Elementary diploma in 2014 from the Montessori Institute of Atlanta, her M.Ed. from Loyola University of Baltimore in 2015, and her AMI Primary Diploma from the Montessori Institute of North Texas in 2022. After eight years of classroom experience, she founded Catalyze Consulting, LLC. She currently assumes her

Soraya Lallani serves as Pedagogical Director of Consultation and Coaching for AMI/USA. In addition to providing pedagogical expertise, Soraya is responsible for overseeing the Recognition Program, the Coaching/Mentoring program, and will help guide AMI/USA with the forthcoming Global School Accreditation Program.

Soraya’s passion in facilitating societal change stems from an ardent belief

Allison is a primary and elementary trained Montessorian with over 20 years of experience, including teaching, coaching, special education, school administration, bilingual Montessori, and DEI in public, charter, and international school settings. She holds an M.Ed. from Loyola University. Her passion is ensuring that Montessori is implemented in a way that

Kelly Jarrell brings a wide range of experiences in Montessori education and working with people. She holds a BA in psychology, a Masters in Social Work (MSW), a NAMC diploma in Primary Montessori Education, and an AMI diploma in Elementary. People are her passion. She first came to Montessori