Deba has over 30 years of administrative and teaching experience in Montessori schools. Prior to her Montessori work, Deba owned and trained horses, was a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., and a partner in a political consulting firm in Texas. Deba’s daughter attended Montessori schools from Toddler through graduation.
Michelle joined Thacher in 2004. A second-generation Montessorian, she taught in the Children’s House Program for over a decade before moving full-time into administration. Along with her work at Thacher, Michelle sits on the American Montessori Society (AMS) Board of Directors and currently serves as the Chair of the AMS School Accreditation Commission. Michelle is passionate about Montessori education and continuous school improvement, and she enjoys collaborating with other Montessori professionals around the globe. Michelle and her husband are the proud parents of two Thacher alumni.
Nikki has 12 years of experience as an admissions professional, which includes five years at a Montessori school. Before her career as a school administrator, she spent over a decade working in the property management field as a Paralegal, a Compliance Specialist, and a Property Manager.
During her free time, Nikki loves to dance and listen to music. She spent many years as a performing artist and enjoys sharing her experiences as a former New England Patriots Cheerleader with youth in the community. Nikki was a volunteer cheerleading coach and currently teaches dance in Boston where she lives with her teenage daughter.
She grew up in Colombia, South America. Vicky misses teaching Spanish at Thacher but loves working in the business office and being a part of the Thacher community. She has three children and loves biking, hiking, camping, and exploring new places with her family. She also enjoys swimming, writing, photography, and making scrapbooks to preserve memories.
Mary grew up in Boston and graduated from Boston Latin School. She subsequently met her husband at one of their class reunions. They have one son.
She engages in cooking, teaching, interior design, real estate, fashion, and fitness and loves traveling the world with her family.
She joined our community prior to her daughter Carmen’s Thacher graduation in 2009. Andrea enjoys riding her bike to work as well as windsurfing, kayaking, yoga, and skiing.
She loves art and started her career as a cartographer and drafter. Sharyn worked as a receptionist/office manager for over 12 years, and maintained an active volunteering ethic for the past 18 years. She volunteered at her local library, was a Girl Scout leader, a religious school teacher, and volunteered in many capacities at her local schools and parent’s groups. She is a vice president at her Temple and an active member of her town’s public school music boosters group. When not volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her family.
When Kristin is not at Thacher she loves going to the beach or spending time with her family and friends.
She worked extensively as a public health nurse during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and navigated Thacher re-opening their doors full-time in September 2020.
Carolynn grew up in Braintree, MA, and still lives there with her husband and three children. She enjoys spending time with family, volunteering, reading, and the beach.
She has been with Thacher since 2007. In her spare time time she enjoys gardening, decorating, boating and outdoor activities. Kasia loves to spend as much time as possible with her family.
She grew up in an in-home childcare program run by her mother. Sam graduated from Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical High School. She is pursuing her college education in education through online classes.
Her hobbies include running, hiking, and spending time with her family.
Cassandra has been working in primary classrooms since 2011 and has previously worked in traditional settings. In her free time, she loves spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys skiing, traveling, and baking.
She joined Thacher in the autumn of 2023. A lifelong teacher, Susan taught globally for the Japanese and French ministries of education, as well as for independent schools on the U.S. West and East coasts.
Susan serves as a guide for ‘Historic New England’. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and traveling.
Brittany loves outdoor activities – particularly going to the beach, hiking, and horseback riding. She enjoys spending time with her family and close friends.
Her experience as a preschool classroom assistant between the ages of 16-19 offered her an incredible perspective on this valuable role at an early age, and her growing love of philosophy and caring for others both physically and emotionally has led her to a passion for Montessori. Outside of the classroom, Sarah loves exploring art in all forms (both creating and appreciating). Her current five-year plan is simply “collecting experiences”- or, in Montessori terms, lifelong learning.
She has over 20 years of experience in Montessori classrooms in Ohio, New Jersey, and Texas. Priya and her husband have two college-aged children who attended Montessori schools through middle school.
They believe it is more important than ever for children to have someone to look up to that will also represent them as someone part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
They are committed to supporting our environment, living a sustainable life, and shopping from local small businesses and artists. Olivia collects pins and stickers from these artists. Olivia likes gardening and volunteers at their grandmother’s local flower shop in their free time. They are also a fan of Anime, comic books, and video games.
Bridget was introduced to Thacher through student teaching in 2015. She became a Classroom Assistant until 2019 and after graduate school, she rejoined the Thacher Team as a Lead Guide in Lower Elementary. In her free time, Bridget enjoys spending time outside with her family and friends.
Cassie spends her free time with friends and family, traveling, gaming, and playing with animals. She is an animal lover with a special fondness for rabbits.
Originally from New Brunswick, Canada, Jill moved to the Boston area to be part of Thacher Montessori in 2009. Before discovering Montessori, Jill taught in public school. In her free time, Jill enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband and traveling back to Canada to visit family and friends.
Originally from Manassas, Virginia, Brian moved to the Boston area to be a part of Thacher Montessori in 2021. Prior to working at Thacher, Brian taught English as Second Language (ESL) in Taiwan for seven years. In his spare time, he enjoys Dungeons and Dragons, reading, traveling, catching up with family and friends, swimming, and above all, coffee.
Asha hails from Lawrence, Kansas. She is a very involved member of the MIT Outing Club and enjoys rock climbing, hiking, museums, and reading books over coffee.
An athlete at heart, Robyn has participated in gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, and lacrosse.
After graduation Amy moved about the country finally settling in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Upon her return to the Boston area Amy began her Montessori training and graduated with an AMI Elementary level diploma from the Montessori Training Center of New England in Hartford CT. Amy spends her free time with her three children and enjoys playing dominoes and baking.
Tom has coached soccer, basketball, and track and field at the middle school and high school level and has won numerous MIAA State Championships in Track and Field for Pembroke and Plymouth North HS. He studied Mindfulness at UMassMemorial Medical Center and Lesley University. He was inducted into Milton High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame for Soccer, Basketball, and Track and Field.
Tom enjoys spending time with his wife of 20 years and two teenage sons cooking, exercising, watching international movies, and reading on the beach.
She has over six years of Montessori classroom experience, starting in an elementary classroom at Bay Farm Montessori and then as a Children’s House lead guide at The Inly School. When not painting and sculpting, Renay can be found on outdoor adventures with her family and her dog Briggs.
Carissa has taught in a variety of environments in Massachusetts and abroad in Spain, where she lived for almost two years. She is certified as a T.E.F.L. instructor and has taught in Madrid for over a year. Within Massachusetts, Carissa has over eight years of experience teaching Spanish in public schools, a charter school, and a Montessori School. The age ranges she’s worked with have spanned from as young as 2.9 years old to adults.
Carissa has three children and lives on the South Shore with her husband. They love to travel and spend time at the beach and with family in their spare time. Carissa also loves coaching her daughter’s soccer team and reading whenever she has extra time.
Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Yvonne worked in media and event management for over 10 years before moving to the US with her family. Yvonne’s journey as an educator began when her son was two. She felt it was her responsibility to help her son learn her mother tongue thereby building an expansive worldview.
In her leisure time, she loves reading, traveling, volunteering, and meditating.
Kelley has a Massachusetts teaching license in Elementary and Moderate Special Needs Education. Before joining Thacher, she worked in a variety of elementary schools throughout the greater Boston area. Kelley’s interests include music, dance, theater, cooking and traveling. She is a true animal lover and is committed to being a loving auntie to her 2 nieces and nephew.
She has ten years of working as a Teaching Assistant, working one-on-one with the students. Before working in education, Cheryl was a marketing and proposal consultant with various law and investment firms. She is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cheryl also enjoys a DIY challenge of any kind. She has two young adult children.
She owned a preschool/daycare for 15 years. Kim sold that to pursue her passion… books! She opened a book store called Ugly Dog Books. Her passion continues here at Thacher. When not reading Kim is writing or painting. She writes a monthly column “Book Marked” in the Attleboro, Sun Chronicle newspaper. Kim has also self-published a book, in memory of her dad, “Footprints in the Snow”. She is in the process of getting a work of fiction published. She lives with her husband, two sons, and two dogs.
Prior to joining Thacher, Sally worked at Sacred Heart High School, Dana Hall, and Eliot Montessori. She likes to garden, hike, run, camp, and read.
He left a full-time position as a musician with Boston’s Blue Man Group to teach at Thacher. Victor also facilitated the Guitar Circle New England. He was an active participant in Robert Fripp’s Guitar Craft school where he received much of his music training (he is the only authorized instructor of this work in New England). Victor is certified by Musik Garten to teach music to young children and has been trained in the Montessori Music Curriculum as assembled by Anna Maria Maccheroni. He is an enthusiast of analog recording, taiko drumming and enjoys improvisational guitar work in various ensembles.
She has served as a dental assistant for Quincy Adam Dental Associates (Quincy, MA) and a dental assistant intern a Upham’s Corner Community Health Center (Boston). Marshelle has a dental assisting certificate from the Boston Career Institute. Over the last four years, Marshelle has also been a valued substitute at Thacher in the classroom and in the Aftercare program.
She has also written grants for an Adolescent Program in Dorchester called the CAPP, which allowed parenting adolescents to attend school. While she has worked in Healthcare Administration, her first love is to help foster young minds in being an asset to their communities.
With his degree in the visual arts, creativity, international work with children, and personal experience with learning challenges, Sam wants to provide compassionate care for a diverse range of children. He has experience with children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities working at the Charles River Center in both Needham and Natick.
He is an avid pet lover, and while an adventurous eater, he still prefers hamburgers and hot dogs. Estuardo is also a Minister who works with adults and children in Saint Mark’s Parish.
The board welcomed Carl Treichel as a new trustee in June 2017. Carl’s daughter, Neve, graduated from Thacher’s Middle School his son, Miles is also a Thacher alumnus. Carl currently works as Senior Manager of Development for Emerging Technologies, and is a member of the MEDITECH Security Board, working on corporate security and risk mitigation.
Michelle Brito joins the Thacher board of trustees, having served as an educator for nearly 20 years in various school settings in the Boston area. Her roles have included teacher, principal, secondary school placement director, and inclusion coordinator. She has consulted with multiple schools and organizations about diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She is the proud parent of a son who is a current Thacher student.
In his role at OunceIT, Jeremy advises many of the Boston area’s independent and charter schools, non-profit organizations, small businesses, and start-ups. In many cases, his consulting relationship with schools involves him taking on an internal role as Director of Technology and building a tech-embracing culture from the inside out. Jeremy has been a cook, a pilot, a classroom educator, and now enjoys spending his time hiking, running, and with his wife (who is a teacher) and son (who attends Thacher).
So far, he’s taught children from every continent except Australia and–of course–Antarctica!
He likes to hike. He loves to read–especially Rimbaud. He’s honored to be on the Board of Trustees at the Thacher Montessori School.
After graduating magna cum laude, she clerked for the Massachusetts Superior Court. Elizabeth then worked for a litigation law firm defending complex malpractice and professional liability cases. Elizabeth now focuses her practice on criminal appeals. She enjoys crosswords, skiing, and exploring nature with her two children, one of whom attends Thacher.
He currently serves on the Board and Loss Control Committee of the Independent School Compensation Corporation, a self-insurance workers compensation group that insures over 170 nonprofits schools, colleges, and cultural institutions. He has also been president and treasurer of a nonprofit boys’ camp in Maine, treasurer of the Massachusetts Association of Nonprofit Schools and Colleges, and chair of the finance committee of his local church. Rick enjoys fly-fishing, antique clock repair, and trying to keep up with his English setter puppy. He and his wife, Charlotte, live in Dedham.
