Guest Trainers

From time to time, SMTC has guest trainers working to expand our training program via AMI Refreshers, short courses or other workshops. Here are some of the guest trainers working with SMTC.

Sue Pritzker

Sue graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with degrees in Sociology and Spanish. She worked as a teacher and administrator at Marin Montessori School before taking on the position of Head of School at Childpeace Montessori in Portland, Oregon in 1987. Sue helped to grow the school from 45 to 360 children and retired from that position in July 2020. Sue was a founding member and Chair of Montessori Administrators Association for four years.  She has a certificate in Non-Profit Administration from Concordia College.  

Sue is founder and presenter with Lead Montessori workshop in Prague and has been a speaker and presenter for NAMTA, AMI-USA, Montessori Mexico, Montessori Norge, AMS, Oregon Montessori Organization, and Montessori Institute Prague, with a focus in primary classroom and administrative practice. She was a founding board member and trainer for Whole School Leadership. She serves on the sub-committee and is a trainer for the AMI Montessori School Leadership certificate course (MSL).  Sue also works with the AMI Global School Accreditation task force. A recipient of Oregon Montessori Association’s Outstanding Dedication Award, Sue has been an AMI-USA school consultant at the Primary level since 1985 and enjoys supporting schools and centres in her spare time.

Ruby Lau

Ruby Lau has been an AMI 3-6 Trainer and educational consultant for 40 years. Educated from an early age in the UK, she began her career, after studying psychology at university, in advertising. After Ruby received her 3-6 diploma in 1985 in London, she joined the Maria Montessori Training Organisation (now the Maria Montessori Institute) where she worked both in the school and assisted on the training courses. 1n 1990, Ruby started and ran her own school for 15 years. She holds AMI diplomas at the 0-3, 3-6 and 6-12 age levels and has just completed the 12-18 AMI Diploma course. Ruby is a senior member of the AMI faculty in China, helping to establish training institutes and training local trainers. She served as a member of the Scientific and Pedagogical Committee at AMI for 8 years.

Ruby served as Fundraiser and then Chair, for the Montessori Society AMI UK, and is currently the Chair of the Malaysian Society for Montessori Education, both which promote an awareness of Montessori education to a wider public and support teachers and parents. Now she brings her multi-layered experience to mentor and support the training staff, the students of AMI courses and teachers in schools in many parts of Asia, particularly China, India, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Ruby presented the Reconnect workshop in 2025 for SMTC.

Ellen Lebitz

Ellen Lebitz is an AMI 6-12 trainer as well as mentor and support to schools and teachers throughout the US and the world. Ellen has earned AMI 3-6 and 6-12 diplomas and has worked at both levels.  She has over 18 years of classroom experience as well as 17 years administrative experience as education director at two schools. Ellen has served on the boards of schools, training centers, as well as several community nonprofit organizations. She has lectured on training courses in South Africa, France, China, Taiwan, and the US. 

She holds a BA in Fine Art and an MA in Studio Art from the University at Albany (NY) and has many years experience teaching art and handwork.  Ellen enjoys exploring the arts and human creativity, especially in regards to handcrafts and cookery. She lives with her family in rural northwest Washington State. 

Ellen has presented several workshops for SMTC, including a workshop for new materials in 2025 and an update in May 2026.

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Patricia Pantano

Patricia Pantano has AMI training on the Primary and Elementary levels and a BA in Sociology from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. She studied and taught in Tokyo, Japan, for 2 years before teaching Montessori pre-school in 1975. She spent 12 years at the elementary level in both public and private schools. She became Middle School Coordinator at the St. Alcuin Montessori School in Dallas in 1991and has worked with adolescents ever since. Patricia is an AMI Montessori Adolescent trainer, and has worked at training centres in Cleveland, Sweden and Mexico. She believes strongly in the power of linking the adolescent to the real world. 

As well as delivering our 12-18 Reconnect Workshop for 2026, Patricia is also the AMI examiner for the graduating class of AMI 12-18 Diploma students undertaking exams in January 2026.

Kavya Chandrasekhar

Kavya Chandrasekhar is AMI trained across the 0-3, 3-6, 6-12 and 12-18 age groups and became an AMI 0-3 Trainer in 2024. Kavya is the Executive Director at Montessori Institute of Bangalore, which offers AMI training at three levels, namely Assistant to Infancy, Primary, and Elementary. She is the Founder and Montessori Guide of The Montessori School (0-6 years) and Kriyasthala (6-18 years) with over 18 years of experience working with children and families from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. She is deeply committed to transforming education that supports and nurtures the development of every child by reaching out to educators globally. 

Alison Awes

Alison Awes has been the Director of 6-12 Training at the Montessori Centre of Minnesota since 2010, and the Director of 6-12 Training with the Montessori Institute Bangalore, India, since 2022. She holds Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Diplomas for Primary (ages three to six) and Elementary (ages six to twelve) levels, a B.A. in art history from Smith College, an M.A. in Latin-American studies from Tulane University, and an M.Ed. in Montessori education from Loyola University Maryland. She has taught in Montessori classrooms for ages six to nine and ages nine to twelve. Alison is an AMI examiner and consultant, has served on the boards of private and charter (public) Montessori schools, and holds a Teaching Online certification. A former board member of the AMI Elementary Alumni Association, she served as a pedagogical advisor for six years and now works on the AMI Scientific Pedagogy Group. 

As an international lecturer and keynote speaker, Alison has given numerous workshops and short courses on a wide variety of topics, including dyslexia, art and the work of the hand, the psychological and physical prepared environment, and moral development in the digital age. She has worked on the faculty at international AMI teacher training centers, including those in Australia, South Africa, and Thailand, and has also directed courses in England and Switzerland. Alison has worked to advance the philosophy, spirit, and practice of Montessori through regularly mentoring teachers in Montessori classrooms worldwide. An advocate for children with reading challenges, she also holds Level I Orton Gillingham training. Alison attended Montessori school until the age of twelve. 

Carol Potts

Carol is an AMI 3-6 Trainer. She is a trustee of the Maria Montessori Education Foundation, the affiliated AMI training centre in Aotearoa, New Zealand. She is an AMI examiner, consultant and mentor and has offered workshops and training onsite and online with Montessori organisations in Australia, Japan, China & Bahrain.  Carol is one of the AMI training faculty in Beijing, China and often serves as AMI examiner for SMTC’s AMI 3-6 Diploma exams. She is also the Director of Training for the 3-6 Diploma in Auckland.

Molly Schayot

Molly Schayot is an AMI Auxiliary Trainer with the Montessori Institute of North Texas (MINT) in the USA, having worked on a number of AMI Diploma Courses and Orientation Courses.  She received her AMI 0-3 Diploma from MINT in 2006 and has led 0-3 classrooms and worked as an administrator at schools throughout Texas.  Prior to  joining the Montessori community professionally, she worked in corporate public affairs for many years.  Molly lives with her husband, Jason and her three daughters in Dallas.

Molly has presented several workshops and Refreshers for SMTC.

Heidi Philippart

Heidi is a 0-3 Director of Training at the Maria Montessori Institute in London.

Heidi is the founder of two small Montessori Bilingual Preschools and the 2Voices Montessori Study Room for adult education in Amsterdam. Her specialty is helping parents in the application of Montessori principles and bilingualism in the home environment. Heidi has spoken extensively around the Netherlands and internationally on Montessori-related topics for the birth to three years age group. Heidi holds a Masters Degree in Education and is an AMI Trainer, examiner and consultant at the 0-3 level.

Heidi presents SMTC’s “Montessori at Home” for parents.