June 8, 2020

Dear Montessori Community,

It is with great excitement and pleasure that the Board of Directors of the American Montessori Society announces the hire of Munir Shivji as our new executive director, effective Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

Munir brings to the ED role a career-long dedication to the Montessori Method, our community, and especially, the children we serve. A 7-year veteran of our board of directors, he is also founding head of 2 Montessori schools and founding director of an AMS-affiliated teacher education program. In addition, he is a former program director at an AMS-accredited school, a former Montessori classroom teacher, and a Montessori alum. You can read more about Munir here.   

The process that resulted in Munir’s hire was led by a board-appointed Search Committee comprised of community members, staff, and board directors. The committee recognized that Munir’s experience in the Montessori community, along with his deep and clear understanding of our organization, uniquely qualified him to immediately assume the functions necessary for leading us during this time of crisis arising from the global pandemic and the national heightened awareness of systemic racism.

We like to think that Munir’s parents recognized, when they gave him his name—“Munir,” in Arabic, means bright, brilliant, radiant—that their son would one day bring light and clarity to our community.

We know you will join us in welcoming Munir to his new role as AMS executive director. 

Sincerely, 

Amira Mogaji, AMS Board President
On behalf of the AMS Board of Directors