AIMS BOARD MEMBERS & ROLES
President | Reena Vohra Morgan is a Montessori Consultant & Coach, and founder of Hive Educational Consulting and Parent Coaching. She has over 20 years of experience as a Montessori teacher & school administrator in both public and private Montessori schools in Chicago. Reena holds a Master’s Degree in Childhood Development from the Erikson Institute, Chicago. She holds both AMS & AMI Primary Montessori Certifications and is a Jai Certified Parenting Coach. Reena is a Montessori teacher trainer with MRC (Montessori Residency of Chicago) and has been on the AIMS Board since 2016. Reena loves yoga, biking, & reading and resides in the city of Chicago with her husband, 3 uniquely wonderful daughters, 2 cats, & 1 dog! I enjoy serving on the AIMS Board as a resource to guide & support all Montessorians interested in learning, growing, and empowering each other! I really appreciate the connections and shared values among all AIMS members! |
| Beth Norman, M. Ed., for over two decades, has been an experienced Montessori leader serving the needs of children, families, adult learners, educators, and school administrators, and the community with integrity, compassion, creativity, leadership, and advocacy. Currently Beth is the Head of School at the Montessori School of Long Grove, 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. She is also the Vice-President of the Association of Illinois Montessori Schools (AIMS). Beth holds AMS Infant and Toddler, Early Childhood and Administrator credentials. Officially, 2018. Unofficially as a conference committee contributor, 2015. I am currently the Vice-President and I serve to advocate for outstanding Montessori practice to meet the diverse needs of children, families, educators, and the growth of Montessori in Illinois. |
SecretaryBen Blair | Ben Blair is the Head of School at Rogers Park Montessori. He joined the school in 2005 as an Upper Elementary Teacher, served as the school's Elementary Director, before being selected as Head in 2018. The dad of two Montessori kids, Ben hopes that Montessori's lessons in responsibility balanced with freedom and the goal of perpetuating peace through education will have a positive impact on our world. Ben joined the AIMS board in 2022 and is glad to serve the Illinois Montessori community. I enjoy the camaraderie and shared purpose of advancing Montessori in the state of Illinois, and the opportunity to bring high-quality professional development to Montessorians in our state. |
Membership & EngagementErica Lane | 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. While at Brickton, Erica also spent five years teaching in Lower Elementary and fifteen years leading the Upper Elementary program. In addition to being a long-time Montessori teacher, Erica was a Montessori student at Beverly Montessori and Clissold's CPS Montessori program on the south side of Chicago. Throughout her career, Erica has led teacher workshops at AMS and AIMS on Montessori curriculum and program outcomes, social/emotional development, executive functioning, and classroom management around learning differences. I joined the board in the fall of 2021. I currently serve as the membership director of AIMS and enjoy supporting work for the annual conference and marketing. I really appreciate AIMS board work because of its working nature - the AIMS board works to serve the advancement of Montessori in mainstream education and support the networking of all Montessori communities. |
Denise Monnier is a Montessori advocate. She works to change public policy to support the growth and accessibility of high quality Montessori in Illinois through AIMS and Nationally through the Montessori Public Policy Initiative. Denise attended Montessori as a child and worked in Montessori schools in the Chicago area for nearly 20 years before concentrating her work on policy and advocacy.
|
I taught public school education to first, second, third, and fourth graders in District 126 for 14 years before becoming Head of School at Beverly Montessori School. Beverly Montessori School is a recently accredited small early childhood (3-6) Montessori School in Chicago Illinois. I stayed at Beverly Montessori for 10 years. I currently took on an Assistant Principal role in District 143 at Kolmar Elementary School. I live in Beverly with my husband and 3 children: Thomas (14), Abigail (12), and Elliott (5). My passion is in early childhood learning and education. I have my state license in administration, elementary education, early childhood education, special education in early childhood, and English language learning (ELL) and my Montessori Administration credential from AMS (I love learning!) I absolutely love the connections and relationships I have built on the Board. I joined in 2017 as Secretary. And I love working on the conference! |
Angela Garcia is the Head of School of Near North Montessori (NNM) School in Chicago. She has been an educator for over 30 years. Angela was an early childhood and elementary teacher in independent and public schools for nine years. Prior to leading NNM, she was the Head of School of Friends Community School, a K-8 progressive Quaker school in MD and the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys. She has served as an Assistant Head of School at The Fessenden School and the Director of Lower School at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. I was invited to serve on the board spring 2024 and am delighted to have the opportunity to serve with Montessori educators. |
Terri Kelly currently serves as the Assistant Principal at Drummond Montessori School, where she has been instrumental in advancing the educational mission of Montessori education. With a distinguished career spanning over two decades in the field of education, Ms. Kelly brings a wealth of experience and dedication to the role. Before stepping into the administrative sphere, Ms. Kelly devoted ten years to teaching mathematics, a period during which she honed her instructional skills and developed a deep passion for fostering student understanding and success. This experience laid a strong foundation for her subsequent role as a content area coach, where for eleven years, she guided and mentored fellow educators across various disciplines, enhancing teaching practices and contributing to professional development. For the past six years, Ms. Kelly has served as an Assistant Principal, leveraging her extensive background to support the school's leadership team and drive academic excellence. She has had the privilege of teaching and leading in diverse educational settings in Florida, Texas, and Illinois. A fervent advocate of the Montessori Model of learning, Ms. Kelly believes that this philosophy—centered on "following the child"—is the most effective approach to education. Her commitment to this model is evident in her daily interactions with students, parents, and educators, as she strives to create an environment where each child can thrive and reach their full potential. I am new to the AIMS board and I look forward to the amazing opportunity to learn from a diverse group! |
Sara was a Montessori student through 8th grade and is very passionate about this approach to education. She holds AMS credentials for 3-6 and 6-12 and AMI credentials for Secondary 1 & 2. She recently completed her PhD in Community Psychology from National Louis University. Her dissertation was a mixed methods study on the Montessori Secondary Experience which she presented at the 2024 AIMS conference. Sara teaches in the secondary program at her school and enjoys seeing the whole scope of the first 3 planes of development at her school. She is also very passionate about neurodiversity. I am excited to advocate for the private sector. I was recently voted onto the board (spring of 2024) |
 General Member | Colin Palombi is the Co-Director of Adolescent Programming at Train Montessori. He has worked with adolescents in both Montessori and non-Montessori environments since 2004. He established and directed the Adolescent Program at Chicago Montessori (2016 to 2022), and enjoyed working as a humanities, self-expression, and kitchen guide at the Montessori School of Lake Forest (2004 to 2015). He is AMI trained at the 0-3 and 12-18 levels, holds a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (IL) and an M.Ed from Loyola College in Baltimore (MD). He has worked as an advisor and presenter for AMI 12-18 Orientation and Diploma courses in Ohio, Illinois, and Colorado. He loves to collaborate and share his passion for art, music, and the outdoors with adolescents. I became a general member of the AIMS board in 2024 and enjoy being part of a community dedicated to supporting Montessori education. |
Caitlyn (She/Her) has been involved in Montessori at all stages of her life. As a three-year-old, she enrolled in Portage Collaborative Montessori School, a public Montessori School in Canton, Ohio, where she stayed until she graduated from the program in 8th grade. Caitlyn eventually enrolled at Xavier University, receiving her bachelor's in education and her AMS 3-6 Montessori Training. Caitlyn taught as a Primary Guide for nine years before moving into her current role as Head of School. Caitlyn's passion for continuing education has pushed her to receive her Master's Degree in Educational Policy and Leadership with a focus on Diversity and Equity in Education from the University of Illinois. Caitlyn is also a trained Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) facilitator, a member of the AMS Thinktank Cohort 2, and serves on the board of Humboldt Park Montessori. I am excited to help push advocacy for Montessori Educators as well as help nurture the community of support AIMS has cultivated. |
Originally from Oklahoma, Elizabeth attending California State University, Long Beach, earning a BA in History, with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. After moving to Chicago, Elizabeth began teaching and has been in education since 2008, working as a Montessori teacher and administrator. In 2022, Elizabeth finished her Master’s of Child Development, with concentrations in Administration and Early Childhood Special Education, from Erikson Institute. She has been the Director of Rose Hall Montessori School since 2021. Joined in Summer of 2022; just member; I enjoy the comradery around a shared passion; working together to advance Montessori education across the state of Illinois for all. |
General Member
| Over twenty years ago, I left the systems consulting world and followed my children into their Montessori school. Having never heard of Montessori before, my learning of the pedagogy started with the new school that sprung up in our neighborhood and when my youngest child joined a Primary classroom, I began my Montessori certification courses and joined the staff of their school in August of the same year. My practicum year was split, taking advantage of my financial and operations experience and working administration in the morning while assisting in a Primary classroom every afternoon. In June 2005 I assumed the position of Administrative Director for the school. After a decade of leading an individual school, I was offered the opportunity to coach and mentor other leaders within the Montessori Unlimited network of schools. My focus is to support and ensure authentic Montessori delivery in our Primary classrooms across the country. I was originally the Communications Secretary at AIMS and enjoyed the challenge of securing new and exciting topics and speakers to supply a Professional Development element to each of our meetings. As a general member, I love supporting our annual conference! |
info@ilmontessori.org
|