Our Administrative Team
Trayce Marino has been our dedicated Head of School since 2005. She earned her B.F.A. from Syracuse University. Before coming to MSAE, Trayce worked for six years with Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta as their Arts Program Director. She also worked as a Georgia Pre-K teacher for four years prior to that. Trayce received her Montessori Elementary Certification from Association Montessori Internationale in 2009 and her Master Degree in Education in 2011. Before returning to the the office as the Head of School, she taught at the Upper Elementary level. Her love of children is apparent in her work in any hat. Trayce has a wonderful husband of over 20 years and two adorable boys. Both boys matriculated through our Montessori program here at the Montessori School at Emory. Trayce's family has resided in Decatur for over ten years. In the rare moments that she has time to herself, she likes to read, run, and do crossword puzzles.
Ashley Jones joined our team during the 2018-2019 school year as the Marketing and Admissions Administrator. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Marketing from Cleveland State University and has had the opportunity to study Business Internationally. Her previous career was that of Sales and Marketing. Ashley enjoyed years of experience within the Hospitality industry prior to finding her passion in the field of education. Ashley also holds an AMI – Elementary Diploma and her M.Ed with a Montessori Focus from the University of Hartford. She has spent many years working with children part-time and her passion of working with children stemmed from her love for her own four beautiful children which she has chosen Montessori for. Some of her favorite activities consist of spending time with her children often by dancing in the living room, reading, yoga, piano, meditation and exploring the world.
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Nikki Torres joined MSAE this year as the Pedagogical Support Coordinator. Nikki has a long history in Montessori education – she is the daughter of a Montessori educator and attended Montessori schools from infancy through Primary. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hood College (MD), Nikki pursued her AMI Montessori Elementary (ages 6 -1 2) certificate from Washington (DC) Montessori Institute, AMS Montessori Secondary (ages 12-15) certificate from Houston (TX) Montessori Institute, and Master of Education degree from Loyola University Maryland. Nikki has taught at the Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary and Adolescent levels at Montessori schools in Chicago and Atlanta. Since leaving the classroom, Nikki has served as program developer and coordinator, educational director, and most recently as an associate head of school. When not at MSAE she provides educational coaching and consultation for Montessori educators and school leaders. Nikki enjoys supporting faculty as they provide an exceptional Montessori experience for MSAE children.
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Christine Merritt has been with The Montessori School at Emory for almost a decade. Although Christine has recently joined the Administrative team as the Office Manager, she enjoys each and every opportunity she has to get into the classroom and work hands on with the children. In Christine's spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, reading, and learning.
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Kara joined the MSAE family in 2019 as an elementary classroom assistant teacher. She is now the Front Office Manager. Kara has been in the education field for many years as well. She spent the first 16 years of her career teaching 5 year old children in a traditional educational environment. She is very passionate about the Montessori philosophy and enjoys reading and playing sports during her downtime. Kara also enjoys spending time with her four adult children continuing to support and guide them.
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Tom Podgorny, our founder, has made authentic Montessori his life’s work. Tom has two children who attended our Montessori school from toddler through Adolescent. Tom says, ”after everything I have seen the past twenty plus years, there is no way I would let my own children miss out on a Montessori education“. Although Tom is not a trained teacher himself he is well respected throughout the Montessori community both locally and nationally for his accomplishments and experience. He was asked to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the AMI teacher training center here in Atlanta. Once he completed that term he has remained a member of that board. Tom also served as a board member of the Montessori Administrators of Georgia. He is also a member of the following organizations:
Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
Montessori Administrators Association (USA)
NAMTA
Tom is interested in hiring only the best AMI trained teachers for each of the classrooms and employing them as administrators as well. He believes that if you hire the best AMI trained teachers, you can then give them full autonomy to do what they do best.
Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
Montessori Administrators Association (USA)
NAMTA
Tom is interested in hiring only the best AMI trained teachers for each of the classrooms and employing them as administrators as well. He believes that if you hire the best AMI trained teachers, you can then give them full autonomy to do what they do best.