Before joining Puddletown in 2020, Ali spent several years working in public Montessori. She was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana and graduated from DePauw with a degree in Environmental Geoscience. In 2016, Ali moved to Portland for a position at a public Montessori school as an assistant in an upper elementary classroom. She then completed her AMI Elementary 6-12 training and MEd from Loyola University Maryland. As an educator, Ali is motivated by community, connection and empowerment. In addition to teaching credentials, Ali has experience utilizing restorative justice and anti-racist anti-bias (ABAR) practices. When she's not teaching, Ali is making art, hiking, or reading. She and her partner love spending time exploring all the great nooks and crannies Portland has to offer, both indoors and outdoors!
Allison was raised on the East Coast and discovered Montessori education while teaching at Saint Maur International School in Yokohama, Japan. She connected with Maria Montessori’s pedagogical approach that each child has the potential to self-create and offer their innate gifts to our world. Allison received her AMI Primary diploma at the Washington Montessori Institute in DC, where she studied under Hildegard Solzbacher, and her AMI Infancy diploma under Dr. Silvana Montanaro at the Montessori Institute in San Diego. She taught at Marin Montessori School in Corte Madera, CA, and was the founder of Laurelhurst Montessori School in Portland, OR, which she led for over a decade. Allison holds a BA degree in English and Drama from Saint Mary’s College of Maryland. With a deep passion for early childhood education within the Montessori framework, she is dedicated to helping each child realize their full potential through exploration, discovery and independence in a nurturing and respectful environment. In her free time Allison enjoys traveling, creating art, and exploring in nature with her two daughters.
Ana (“On-Nuh”) joined Puddletown in 2022 with almost 20 years of experience in the Children’s House, most recently at The Ivy School, a public charter Montessori in North Portland. Ana has two Montessori Primary education diplomas, the American Montessori Society (AMS 2005) and the Association Montessori International (AMI 2014), a Human Services Bachelor of Arts (Western Washington University) and a Masters Degree in Montessori Education from Loyola. Her education gives her a unique understanding and tools for teaching, administration, and board participation. Her work experience includes an Early Childhood internship with Head Start and several nanny positions. Ana’s passion for sharing Montessori with others, centering Equity in the classrooms, and enthusiasm for supporting Montessori teachers inspire the work she does in the community. In addition, Ana also serves as Board President of Montessori Northwest and recently was a member of Embracing Equity’s Leadership Residency Cohort 2021-2022. Outside of the school day, Ana can be found strumming her ukulele, devouring a variety of both fiction and non-fiction books, and trying out a new recipe in her home kitchen.
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Andy was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to Portland in 2002. Andy worked all over the city before starting a family, and becoming a stay-at-home dad. He spent many years as a parent volunteer in Puddletown's Outdoor Classroom prior to formally becoming the Outdoor Classroom assistant in 2021 when his love for the Puddletown community and for childhood wonder drove him to this as a new career. When Andy's not at school, he enjoys reading comic books, DJing, exploring new restaurants, live music, stand-up comedy, podcasting, and skateboarding.
Angela was born and raised in Southern New Jersey near Philadelphia and considers herself a jack-of-all-trades. In 2004 she attended the University of the Arts as a Craft/Metals major, with a focus on body adornment/jewelry. In 2012, Angela moved to Portland to officially study Middle Eastern Dance. While embarking on a dance career, she began training at Montessori Northwest where she received her AMI Primary Montessori Education as well as an MEd from Loyola University Maryland.
In 2019, Angela made another decision to become a Death Midwife (www.heartwisewoman.com). Angela hopes to educate those around her, young and old - to teach them that death doesn’t have to be a scary thing to talk about. When not at Puddletown, Angela is baking, reading, dancing, hanging with horses or creating in her art studio. She and her husband love spending time exploring, staying at various Air BNBs, creating jewelry together, and snuggling and singing to their two cats, Baby Kitty and Tiki B.!
In 2012 Augusta moved from Brazil to the Pacific Northwest where she first resided in Washougal, WA and now here in Portland. She lives with her son Owen and their cat Nutella. Augusta graduated in business administration many moons ago and worked in accounting, fashion, and the public sector. In 2020, Augusta joined Puddletown, earned her Master's degree in teaching and completed her Montessori teaching certification. Working in a school like Puddletown brings a smile to her face every morning. Other reasons to smile are traveling, reading, watching movies, listening to music, dancing, spending time with her family, meditating, and learning languages. Besides her native Portuguese, Augusta speaks English, Spanish, French, and Italian.
Aurora is a first generation Indigenous American woman who has been part of the Elementary team at Puddletown since 2023. After finishing her bachelor's degree in Public Health and pre-clinical and occupational sciences from Portland State University in 2021, Aurora spent two years working as an assistant in a lower elementary classroom at a public Montessori school. She is working toward her Elementary teaching certificate. She has experience working with ABAR and Positive Discipline practices and has a particular knack for working with challenging behaviors and neurodivergence. Aurora is passionate about helping diverse populations through education, connection, engagement, and support. Along with her professional attributes Aurora has a long standing interest in a variety of athletics, arts and crafts, comedy, choir, chess and other board games, and imitating voices.
Blair was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and grew up on the eastern side of Washington state. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Portland State University, majoring in Community Development with a minor in Sustainable Urban Development. After several years of working in the nonprofit sector, Blair had the pleasure of staying home with her children who went on to join a Montessori classroom. Blair immediately fell in love with Montessori and decided to return to school to deepen her knowledge of the subject. Blair completed her AMI Primary training at Montessori Northwest in conjunction with earning a Master’s degree in Montessori Education from Loyola University. Upon graduating, she has worked as both an assistant and lead guide in the Portland Montessori scene.
In her free time, Blair enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters hiking, camping and backpacking; reading, gardening, embroidering, making sourdough bread, cooking delicious vegan meals and playing with the family’s dog Max.
Carissa is a visual artist raised in Laurel, Oregon. She studied Studio Art and has been assisting and mentoring art classes since graduating in 2019 as well as curating art exhibitions for emerging artists. She has an affinity for material-driven artwork and loves to use textiles or paint small moments. At 20 years old she solo-traveled internationally for the first time, which sparked a prioritization for international experiences in her life, resulting in more travel for work, studying and experience itself. After living in Berlin for two years as a nanny and moving back to her original home, Oregon, she started exploring Montessori concepts and felt connected to the values and support it offers children. Carissa loves breakfast outside, swimming outside, rain, dancing with friends and crafting.
Celine is the Staff Resource Coordinator at Puddletown. In their role, Celine supports the team by connecting with staff - whether it's accessing internal tools and support offered by Puddletown or finding external resources. They are passionate about supporting educators, working collaboratively towards liberatory education, and fostering a work environment where staff feel valued as whole people. Alongside their resource coordination duties, Celine also assists with day-to-day operations, ensures state compliance, and helps coordinate Puddletown's aftercare program and camps.
Celine began their journey at Puddletown as a substitute teacher, where they quickly developed a passion for Montessori education. This passion led them to a role as a classroom assistant in the Sage Classroom, where they spent four fulfilling years. Outside of school, Celine enjoys spending time with their three beloved cats, cooking delicious food, and taking naps.
Growing up in Corvallis, Corinne's mom was an assistant in a Montessori preschool-kindergarten classroom while Corinne attended another Montessori program nearby. Corinne has BA in English from University of Oregon, AMI Primary Diploma from Montessori Northwest (MNW), and M.Ed from Loyola University of Maryland. Corinne spent 12 years as Primary Course Assistant at MNW, has served on the board of the Oregon Montessori Association (OMA), and is a past recipient of the OMA Outstanding Dedication Award. Corinne enjoys working with both adult and child members of the Montessori community, most recently as the Puddletown Outdoor Classroom Guide since 2018 and on the administrative/leadership team since 2021. Her favorite Montessori role, however, has been parenting a Montessori learner who was in Montessori from age 2-14. In Corinne's free time, she enjoys visiting the Oregon Coast, working on her home's Backyard Habitat, learning about the natural world, and cuddling her pets.
Emi has been the lead guide in the Lavender classroom since 2014. Before joining Puddletown in 2011 as the assistant in the Lavender classroom, Emi had worked in varied environments caring for children including daycare, summer camp, and nanny work. Emi received a BA in Psychology from University of Hartford. Once arriving in Portland from the east coast, she received her AMI Primary diploma from Montessori Northwest. Emi is committed to the essence of the Montessori method and believes in the marvel of the true nature of the child. In her free time, Emi enjoys walking, writing, drawing, cooking, listening to records and spending time with her family.
Emilia grew up in the Twin Cities, before traveling out west to Vancouver, BC to attend the University of British Columbia. They studied cognitive systems and computer science, and really found their groove in a teaching assistant position, ultimately deciding to switch paths towards education. Since then, they’ve worked at a natural history museum, teaching earth and planetary sciences to incoming field trips, and led an after care program at a French immersion elementary. They’re excited to join the Puddletown team this year and cook up some fun aftercare activities. Outside of school, Emilia enjoys thrifting, playing board and card games, writing when the mood strikes, and spending time with friends.
Erin began volunteering as a Puddletown parent in 2013 and has been a staff member at Puddletown since 2017. She is a former therapist to children and families. Erin has an MS in Counseling Psychology from Lewis and Clark Graduate College and a BA in Political Science from Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University. It was at Lewis and Clark where Erin's interest in Montessori sparked, and she graduated knowing that she really wanted any of her future children to attend a Montessori program or school. As soon as she met Sam and Andrea, then the lovely teaching staff at Puddletown, she knew this was where she wanted her kids to stay, and for as long as possible. Erin wishes for and wants to work toward the Montessori experience being available to all children and interested families. She has a long history in research (marketing and scholarly), making her inquisitive, efficient and organized. She's slowly run a marathon and many halves, played roller derby competitively across the country, and now is well practiced at home improvement projects, singing camp songs and playing elaborate rounds of charades with her three fantastic children (all Puddletowners) and thespian-at-heart husband, Eddie.
Before joining the Puddletown family, Keith worked in the public Montessori realm for four years. Keith was born and raised in the cornfields of Illinois, where they attended Northern Illinois University for a degree in Environmental Geosciences. Upon graduation, Keith worked as a Ranger for the National Park Service, traveling to unique places as far off as Alaska. As a lifelong learner, Keith was called to work in education where their passion for imaginative play has found purpose. Since then, they have fallen in love with Portland for its quirkiness and natural beauty. When not teaching, Keith enjoys outdoor adventures, tabletop roleplaying games, and painting their hundreds of miniatures.
Lee joined Puddletown in 2022 as a regular substitute for Red Cedar. Before helping at Puddletown, they taught high school history, government, and economics in traditional schools in the Portland area since 2013. Lee is originally from Boston, but fell in love with Portland when they came here to get their BA in religion at Reed College. They also have a graduate degree in religion and history from the University of Oxford, as well as their MA in Teaching from Lewis and Clark. Lee is thrilled to be experiencing Montessori education for the first time alongside their own kids in the Sage and Red Cedar classrooms! When not teaching, Lee is likely in the garden at home, unless they are playing video games.
Rachael earned her AMI 3-6 Primary diploma from Montessori Northwest and is currently finishing up her M.Ed. in Montessori Education from Whitworth University. She was a Montessori child herself, and spent several years teaching 6th-8th grade in Iowa before moving here to Portland. After several years immersing herself in books at Powell’s Books, Rachael is returning to her Montessori roots. She appreciates the power Montessori has to support transformation in the child, the adult, and the community. When not at Puddletown, you can usually find her reading, running, working on a craft project, or learning to play the banjo.
