Our Administrative Team
Trayce Marino is the Head of School at the Montessori School at Emory. She handles the day to day operations and management of the school. Trayce has a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts from Syracuse University, an AMI Montessori certification at the elementary level, and a Masters degree in Montessori education from Loyola University. She has been with the Montessori School at Emory for over 17 years as both a teacher and in administration.
Along with her colleagues, Trayce has helped to build a thriving Montessori school community. She also founded, and is CEO of, the non-profit arm of the school, Enhancing Montessori Education Inc. This non-profit arm supports added programming in gardening, physical education, special needs, and financial aid for our youngest students. It is her pleasure to do the work of bringing Montessori to everyone.
Trayce has two sons that have come up through Montessori. Her oldest child is currently studying Cinematography at Georgia Gwinnett College and her youngest child is in the upper elementary class at MSAE. She enjoys running, baseball and crossword puzzles in her off time.
Along with her colleagues, Trayce has helped to build a thriving Montessori school community. She also founded, and is CEO of, the non-profit arm of the school, Enhancing Montessori Education Inc. This non-profit arm supports added programming in gardening, physical education, special needs, and financial aid for our youngest students. It is her pleasure to do the work of bringing Montessori to everyone.
Trayce has two sons that have come up through Montessori. Her oldest child is currently studying Cinematography at Georgia Gwinnett College and her youngest child is in the upper elementary class at MSAE. She enjoys running, baseball and crossword puzzles in her off time.
Nikki Torres joined MSAE this year as the Pedagogical Support Coordinator at the Elementary and Adolescent level. 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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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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Ildiko Kumaran, has worked with us as a teacher for over eight years and currently works with us as the Pedagogical Support Coordinator for the Toddler and Primary environments. Originally from Hungary, Idiko moved to the United States in 1997. Here she earned her AMI diploma from the Montessori Institute of Atlanta. Ildiko has more than 23 years of experience working in the Montessori environment and has worked as a primary guide for over 21 years. She is also a certified yoga Instructor and teaches both youth and adult meditation classes. She and her family live in Johns Creek. In her spare time, she volunteers with several different non-profit organizations and also teaches at a Sunday school class. Ildiko enjoys baking and spending time with her family.
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.