Staff Directory

Toddler Staff

Pilar Ossa has been a Toddler guide since 2008. She is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela and moved to the Atlanta area in 2003. “I absolutely love it!” She has a background in dentistry from Venezuela where she trained and worked as a dentist for a year and a half before she came to the States. She began working in Montessori in 2005 as an assistant guide in the toddler classroom at the Maria Montessori School of Atlanta and fell in love with it. In 2007, Pilar finished her Aid to Infancy Training at the Montessori Institute of Atlanta. She has been with us here at MSAE in the toddler community since 2008. “My experience here has been wonderful!” Besides being with her son and the many other children in her life, Pilar enjoys shopping, movies, cooking and (of course) going out.

Ms. Stephanie Murphy is an AMI Trained A-I Teacher and have served at MSAE for over 20 years. Stephanie was blessed to be born the eighth child of ten! Growing up in such a large and loving family enabled her to develop and learn many valuable life lessons; such as the true meaning of love, a strong sense of loyalty, selflessness, and genuine care and concern for others; just to name a few. These and other experiences have greatly influenced her passion to work with young children, with a strong love and appreciation for teaching and nurturing others. Ms. Stephanie is blessed and happily married to her incredibly loving and supportive husband of over 30 years. She is also blessed to be a loving mother of four amazing sons, and an awesome daughter. Ms. Stephanie is a very affectionate grandmother to her beautiful grandchildren. She holds a CDA in Child Development and have over 30 years of extensive teaching and child care experience with a background in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Stephanie is truly blessed with the gift of patience, compassion, and the desire to touch the hearts, minds and to genuinely enhance the development of young children. Ms. Stephanie believes that she has found her true purpose, and for that she is eternally grateful to GOD!

Primary Staff

Ms. Kristin has been with us for over six years and is the primary guide for the Puffin class. She graduated cum laude from Agnes Scott College in 1992 with a degree in international Relations. She earned her Montessori primary certification from the Montessori Institute of Atlanta and her M.Ed. from Loyola University Baltimore in 2010. Ms. Kristin worked at CNN for 9 years before becoming involved in the Montessori community; her deep love of words is gladly shared with the children in her class, and with her son Dylan. Besides writing, Ms. Kristin's hobbies include sewing, cooking, gardening and woodworking. She is fluent in Spanish.

Arzoo Tejani leads a primary community in the Bluebird Room and guides with grace and deep understanding. She earned her B.A. in Education and Commerce in India. She then had several years of teaching experience in a private school in India. It was here in the United States that she became acquainted with Montessori, coming to Atlanta from NYC to take the highly acclaimed AMI Primary Training Course. Arzoo has been a part of our MSAE community of teachers since 2012. She loves to spend time with her family and play with her son, Aariz. She also has a diploma in beauty and cosmetology from India and takes great pleasure doing henna tattoos. Of course, that comes out in her art expression work with the children.

Preeti Bhagat-Nagru has been the guide in the Cardinal Room for over ten years. She did her training here at the International Montessori Training Institute, and received her M.Ed. from Loyola College in Maryland. She is experienced with computers , holding another diploma in computer programming, which she uses more with her two teen aged boys than with her children here at MSAE. She has a flair for arts and crafts (with a diploma in fashion design!) and has sewn her own clothes since she was in high school; this is a craft that the children in her class (as well as other teachers) have benefited from, and their handwork is beautiful. She and her family of black belts train in Tae Kwon Do twice a week. Her favorite hobbies are gardening, sewing, reading and listening to music.

Elementary Staff

Becca Peters is the lead guide in the Sandpiper Lower Elementary Community. She grew up the fourth of six children in Western Massachusetts. As a teenager, she lived in France for a few years, and later she graduated from Fordham University in NYC with a B.A. in French Literature. After college, she volunteered as a teacher for two years in Belize, after which she studied Montessori Education and earned her M. Ed. at Loyola College in Maryland. She moved to Decatur in 2008, where we had the good fortune to bring her into the MSAE community. Not only has Becca chosen Montessori for her career, but she has chosen Montessori education for her two children here at the Montessori School at Emory. She loves to spend off time reading, sewing and exploring Atlanta.

Chelsea Richey began as the Flamingo lower elementary guide in August of 2021. She previously taught lower elementary at the Montessori Institute in Broward just outside of the Everglades, and started the upper elementary class at Montessori InTown here, in Atlanta. She was certified through the Atlanta Montessori Institute after graduating with a degree in cognitive psychology from North Georgia College and State University. She always knew she would become a teacher, and as a child enjoyed guiding the neighborhood children on creek hikes or teaching them the best way to climb a tree. She still loves hiking, as well as gardening and practicing yoga, and brings warmth and positivity into the classroom. Her favorite part of teaching is seeing the spark ignite within a child upon their sudden understanding, and the passionate uncovering of truth that is sure to follow. She lives in Decatur with her husband, John, and her cat, Panda.

Stacey received her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and in 1999, she and her family moved from Oklahoma to Georgia. After working in the accounting field for 11 years she took a year off to stay home with her newborn daughter. In 2004 she began her career in Montessori as the first administrator at Riverstone Montessori Academy in Marietta. After 3 years she moved into the classroom as an assistant before deciding to take the AMI Elementary training and obtain a Masters of Education from Loyola University. Stacey taught in both the Adolescent community as well as the lower elementary community at RMA before joining the MSAE team. Stacey spent 6 years with us as the Adolescent teacher before recently transitioning to the upper elementary classroom.

Adolescent Staff

Mr. Jason joined the MSAE community August 2021. He ventured into Montessori beginning with an idea and an opening for a teacher in a hybrid-Montessori Adolescent Program. Armed with a passing familiarity with the Montessori philosophy, a love of learning, and the belief that he could make a meaningful impact on the lives of the students, he accepted the position that has since changed his life. With a background in research as a Geologist at the University of Georgia and Duke University, the scientific approach of the Montessori philosophy was attractive to him the first time he encountered it. Mr. Jason have always been interested in sharing his knowledge and his interest in the natural world with children, and was active in the community previously at The Duluth Montessori School. This interest and practice brought him to the realization that teaching adolescents is the job that he did not know he wanted all his life. As he continue his education in the philosophy and techniques of the Montessori Adolescent Program, he is passionate in the idea that Montessori is the most effective method to both educate children and prepare them for their lives as citizens.

Mrs. Sonya joined MSAE in August 2022 as the Adolescent Community’s Math Teacher. Her journey to Montessori Education began as the parent of a then primary (now 10th Grade) student. She describes parenting her child during the Montessori School Years as a time of discovery and enlightenment. Specifically, learning about the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and seeing up close and personal the impact of her philosophy on the development of her own child. Mrs. Sonya worked at The Duluth Montessori School, where she and Mr. Jay (Lead Teacher – MSAE Middle School Program) were colleagues.
Her undergraduate and graduate work were in Applied Mathematics (Spelman College) and Mathematics Education (Mercer and University of Georgia). Her professional trajectory started in NYC’s Securities Industry to middle and high school education.
She says, “Getting to explore the world of math with adolescent students is a true adventure and most rewarding.”

Administrative Staff

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kitchen Manager

Madison Lamb is also the Montessori School at Emory Kitchen Manager. Madison has many years of experience working with young children. She often enjoys spending time with her family, friends, reading, laughing and seeking out new challenges. She uses her creativity, love, and passion for cooking to prepare enjoyable meals for our children daily. Madison has two lovely children which she and her husband of many years have chosen Montessori as the best method of education and life.

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