Our Board
Tara Taylor
Tara is SMTC’s Managing Director.
Tara’s background is in legal practice. She remains a Director at legal practice, Sophic Legal, which specialises in commercial law. Tara was senior associate at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and in-house lawyer with Westpac as part of their institutional banking team, providing tax and structuring advice.
Tara has a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney and has been admitted to practice in both New South Wales, Australia and New York State, United States. Tara has been a board member of Inner Sydney Montessori School since 2016 and was its board chair for 7 of those years. She has been a director and the board chair of Sydney Montessori Training Centre since its inception in 2018. Tara is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has also been a board director in other sectors.
Andrew Duff
Andrew’s career has covered roles in senior management and as Chairman and director of both ASX Listed and private companies. He has extensive experience in financial, operational, regulatory and governance issues across organisations of various size and complexity.
In addition Andrew was a Director and Treasurer of Inner Sydney Montessori School for nine years. He has been a director of SMTC since its inception in 2018.
Dale Anthony
Dale Anthony is an educator with over 40 years’ experience that includes both classroom and educational management and leadership roles. She taught French, German and Modern History.
Dale was a member of the Executive Team at PLC Sydney for over 20 years, serving in the roles of Director of Curriculum, and Head Teacher Learning and Teaching. These roles included responsibility for oversight of the delivery/compliance aspects of NESA curriculum; mentoring new staff and acting as the Principal’s delegate (Teacher Accreditation Authority) to implement the NSW Teaching Standards for the purposes of Teacher Accreditation for all staff. Dale has experience as a school board director and has been on SMTC’s board for a number of years.
Karen Bennetts
Karen first became involved with Montessori education in 1993 when her first child began in a Montessori program. She is a Montessori trained teacher with qualifications spanning early childhood, primary and secondary education. Karen has been a 6-12 teacher and the founding principal of a Montessori school for ten years. She was Senior Advisor, Schools at Montessori Australia for 4 years. Karen is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has almost 20 years of governance experience in a range of organisations including schools, a higher education provider and a hospital. Karen has a PhD in Montessori leadership and is an AMI Administrator Trainer running SMTC’s AMI Montessori School Administrators Certificate Courses as well as other courses around the world. In 2016, Karen was the recipient of a State Fellowship Award from the Australian Council of Educational Leaders for her contribution to the education sector. Karen is also a director and board chair in other sectors.