Dear AIMS Community,

The AIMS Transition Committee was fortunate to receive and review many strong applications for two positions that evolved from what was formerly the Executive Director, Denise Monnier’s role. We are pleased to announce our Policy & Advocacy Liaison, Dr. Jamilah R. Jor’dan AND our Conference Coordinator, Beth Norman, M.Ed.

Thank you to Ben Blair, Erica Lane, Kiran Devani, Robyn McCloud-Springer, Sharon Damore, & Denise Monnier for joining me on the Transition Committee. The Committee gave much of their time, energy, and input in this search process.

Dr. Jamilah R. Jor’dan joins AIMS with extensive experience and an enthusiastic commitment to advocate for Montessori throughout the state of Illinois. Dr. Jor’dan is the former Executive Director of the Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development and participated in legislative briefings, press conferences on the State’s Learning Renewal efforts. Dr. Jor’dan has given keynote speeches and presentations at the local, state and national levels. Additionally, she previously served as the Vice-President of the Governing Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and maintains national relationships with various organizations. Dr. Jor’dan was instrumental in ensuring representation of the Montessori community on Illinois’ Early Learning Council. As AIMS’s Policy and Advocacy Liaison, Dr. Jor’dan is excited to continue to help raise the visibility and deepen understanding of Montessori education across the state of Illinois.

Beth Norman for over two decades has been an experienced Montessori leader serving the needs of children, families, adult learners, educators, and school administrators. Currently Beth is the Head of School at the Montessori School of Long Grove. Additionally, she is a core faculty member of Seton Montessori Institute’s teacher education program and serves as an instructor for the American Montessori Society’s Instructor Academy. Beth holds AMS Infant and Toddler, Early Childhood, and Administrator credentials. Beth has been an instrumental AIMS Board member for the past 8 years, serving as Vice President for the past year. For 10+ years, Beth has volunteered a significant amount of her time and energy to supporting the AIMS Conference in numerous ways such as, developing and executing marketing plans, creating branding materials for emails and social media, and identifying salient and key speakers. Beth is excited to further expand her passion and support for the Annual Conference and continue to forward AIMS’s mission, vision and values in her role as Conference Coordinator.

While we are sorry to lose Beth Norman as an AIMS Board Member, the Transition Committee unanimously believes that she is best suited to take the lead in this new role. As Beth steps down as Vice President, the Board is thrilled to vote in Erica Lane as Interim Vice President to fill this vacancy. AIMS members will have the opportunity to cast their vote at our upcoming Members Meeting on December 12th at 7pm. Erica Lane serves as Head of School at Brickton Montessori and has been in Montessori education for almost 30 years. Prior to her Headship, she served as a Montessori Coach for Drummond Montessori School in Chicago Public Schools. Before this, she was the Educational Director of Brickton Montessori School for seven years. Erica joined the AIMS Board in the fall of 2021 and currently serves as the Membership Director of AIMS. Erica is looking forward to stepping into the Vice President role for the Board.

Lastly, as Denise Monnier transitions out of her role as Executive Director, she will be transitioning to an Interim Board Member of AIMS and continue to support the AIMS organization in this capacity. Members will also have the opportunity to officially vote Denise onto the Board at the December 12th Members Meeting.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Jamilah R. Jor’dan, Beth Norman, Erica Lane, & Denise Monnier in their new roles!

We appreciate your continued support and are excited for you to meet these wonderful women at the AIMS Conference in February!

Sincerely,

Reena Vohra Morgan

AIMS Board President