Vale Megan Tyne
Megan Tyne sadly passed away on 28 May 2026.
Megan made a significant and lasting contribution to AMI training in Australia, New Zealand and globally. SMTC stands on the shoulders of this extensive work by Megan and others and we seek to honour Megan’s contribution to training here.
Megan’s funeral will be held at 11am on Friday 12 June 2026 at Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery (1 Hakea Avenue, Davison, NSW 2085 Sydney).
Megan’s Legacy in Training
We understand that Megan first came to Montessori through her children, who attended Forestville Montessori School in Sydney, where she later worked in administration. From there, she became deeply involved in supporting and strengthening Montessori education and went on to play an important role in the re-establishment and development of AMI Montessori training in Australia.
Megan was involved in supporting early work that made AMI training possible in Australia. This included working as an assistant and administrator in support of earlier AMI 3–6 courses. In the late 1990s, she was part of the efforts to rebuild AMI training in Australia after Patricia Hilson’s death some years earlier, with the 1999 AMI 3–6 Diploma course with Shannon Helfrich, which Megan also undertook.
Megan later held senior leadership roles in the organisations that carried this work forward, including as Executive Director of Montessori Australia and as CEO / Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Montessori Studies, an earlier Australian AMI training centre, where she served as a director for more than a decade.
During this period, in addition to the 3-6 training, AMI 0–3 and 6–12 training also became available in Australia for the first time through the Australian training centre, initially with overseas trainers and over time with Australian trainers. Megan played an important role in this work and progression. In 2007, the first AMI course directed by an Australian AMI Director of Training since 1993 was held in Sydney and then the following year in Melbourne. Megan was an important driver of these courses and of the broader work that made them possible.
Megan’s work helped place Montessori training in Australia on a stronger footing and connect it more clearly with the wider AMI community. During this period, in addition to training, work in Australia included the hosting of the 2005 AMI International Montessori Congress in Sydney, the development of national professional development, the government-approved National Montessori Curriculum, early forms of government recognition for AMI diploma training, and wider Montessori initiatives including supporting Indigenous communities. Early adolescent 12-18 training programs also began to run in Australia and Megan supported that too. The work and momentum were extensive.
Megan’s impact also extended to New Zealand, where her encouragement and commitment helped support the beginnings of the New Zealand training centre and AMI training in New Zealand. This laid a foundation for the close collaboration that continues today between Australian and New Zealand training centres, which both SMTC and MMEF value greatly.
Over many decades Megan contributed significantly to AMI internationally, bringing to it her relentless vision, drive and energy. In recent years, she served as AMI’s Chief Innovation Officer, helping AMI respond to a changing technology environment always with the value of training, and access to it, in mind.
Megan was a big-picture thinker and tireless organiser. Her work ethic was immense. Her energy, vision and determination changed what was possible for AMI training in Australia and New Zealand.
SMTC has deep gratitude to Megan for her work for training in our region and we acknowledge her immense and lasting contribution, from which we continue to build.
Our heartfelt thoughts are with her children, Katie, Jodi and Michael, her grandchildren, Ultan and Conan, and their families at this time.
Vale Megan
