![alt text][1] ##Cathy Newman, Head of School## Cathy Newman earned a B.S. in education at Illinois State University and spent a year in public schools in the north suburbs of Chicago before heading to Chicago to begin my work as an assistant in a large Montessori school. After her elementary-level training in Bergamo, Italy, Cathy returned to Near North Montessori and worked as a guide in a 6-9 class for three years. Heeding the call of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated in 1990 to guide a small elementary program at SunGarden Montessori in West Linn, Oregon. When SunGarden expanded its operations into Portland, Cathy became the 9-12-year-old classroom guide for six years at Two Rivers until she refocused her energies on her own family. In 2002, she joined Odyssey Montessori's Board of Directors, and then served as one of the school's co-administrators. In 2003, Cathy officially becamse Odyssey's Head of School, working closely with staff and parents to support Odyssey's mission of excellence. Now, as Head of School for Sunstone Montessori, Cathy will continue to foster excellence from the Children's House through elementary. ##David Ayer, Children's House Assistant Director## David graduated from Reed College in 1987, received his AMI Primary diploma in 1994 at the Montessori Institute Northwest, and taught in a Children's House classroom for three years. In 1997, David and his wife, Elise, founded the Montessori Adolescent Project Northwest in Portland, and worked to develop the Montessori model for adolescents for four years, taking one day a week at a farm in North Plains. David and Elise went on to work at the Hershey Montessori Farm School in Ohio, a farm program with boarding. Returning to Portland, David joined the Franciscan Montessori Earth School's middle school before leaving to work with Northwest Montessori Middle School to develop a farm school in the Portland area. He also worked at the Trillium Charter School, a democratic and constructivist K-12 charter school in Northeast Portland. David lives in southeast Portland with his wife, Elise Huneke Stone (a West Hills Montessori elementary Guide), their daughter Sara Jo, two guinea pigs, two cats, and occasional kittens. David enjoys cooking, dining, and playing music with friends, and he is passionate about Montessori. ##Anna Martucci, Elementary Assistant Director## After graduating from Boston University, Anna Martucci began her Montessori career as an assistant in an upper elementary classroom. She went on to obtain the AMI elementary certification from Washington Montessori Institute and a Masters of Montessori Education from Loyola University in Maryland. Anna has worked as a lower and upper elementary guide, and as the middle school coordinator at Cascadia Montessori School. In addition, she has been the summer school guide at Childpeace Montessori School, created the literary catalogue for SMART and worked as a grant-writer for Portland Reading Foundation. After eight years in the classroom, she took a sabbatical year where she taught English as a second language and obtained a TESL certification from Concordia University as well as a yoga teacher certification from the Himalaya Yoga Training Center in India. Upon return from her travels she jumped at the opportunity to work with the amazing and talented staff at Sunstone. ##Brenda Koenig, Children's House Campus Administrative Assistant## Brenda brings a wealth of experience and passion for Montessori to the Children's House campus. She received her BA from Drew University in 1995 with an English major & Women's Studies/Education double minor, and was a graduate of the first AMI Children's House Assistant's Course at the Montessori Institute Northwest. The chance to work at Sunstone brought Brenda up from Corvallis, where she worked for five years at Corvallis Montessori School. She was a classroom assistant in the primary environment for three years, then was promoted to be enrichment program coordinator. She was responsible for their extended care programs as well as the annual summer arts camp. Brenda also worked as a Head Start teacher and ran a lab classroom/parent education program for infants & toddlers through Linn Benton Community College. She is an avid reader and cinema enthusiast and enjoys being an urban farmer raising chickens with help from her co-housing community. ##Debbie Hall, Business Manager## Debbie moved from Utah to Portland to attend Lewis and Clark College, where she earned her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology. She came to Montessori as a parent of a child at the former Two Rivers Montessori School, now merged with Sunstone. She joined the school as a part-time bookkeeper and has expanded her role with the title of Business Manager. Debbie enjoys reading, running, cooking, and spending time with her family. [1]: http://www.sunstonemontessori.org/system/attachments/4/original/We_made_a_pledge.gif?1256162667 2009-10-19T20:49:02-07:00 The staff who help run Sunstone Montessori 1 38 false Administrative staff 20 39 ##Other staff## Meet our outstanding staff: * [Children's house staff](/childrens_house_staff) * [Elementary staff](/elementary_staff) * [Extended care staff](/extended_care_staff) 2009-10-19T20:49:02-07:00 administrative_staff