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MEIPN Faculty

Our core faculty is listed below. MEIPN’s program is also enriched by visiting faculty members from other Montessori courses, as well as specialists in a variety of related fields.

  • Diana Butler, Instructor and Field Consultant, is AMS certified for ages 3 - 12. She directed a Montessori school and has over 17 years of classroom experience. She is a consultant at Eton School  and works as a field consultant and elementary course instructor for MEIPN. 

  • Nicole Champoux, Instructor, holds AMS Early Childhood and Elementary I credentials from MEIPN.  Nicole graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor's Degree in English.  She has taught at Montessori Children's House for ten years, first in the Early Childhood program, and then as the founder of the Elementary Program.  She is currently the Elementary Program Head and the Elementary lead teacher at MCH.  Nicole teaches Peace Education and Philosophy for Early Childhood and Elementary I and Practical Life and Early Childhood Overview for Elementary I.

  • Sharon Dunn, M.Ed, M.Sc, Instructor, holds the AMI Primary and Elementary Diplomas certifying her to teach ages 3 through 15. She also holds Master’s Degrees in Journalism and Education. She participated in the Puget Sound Writing Project in 1998 which added to her expertise as a teacher of writing and has a 2004 summer fellowship in American history. She teaches the language and geography - history sections of the Elementary II course. During the school year she teaches junior high at Woodinville Montessori.

  • Amy Fujimoto, Instructor, has a B.A. in English from the University of Washington and her AMS Early Childhood and Elementary I credentials from MEIPN. Amy taught in Early Childhood classrooms for five years before joining the Elementary I staff at Woodinville Montessori School. She is an elementary instructor for MEIPN.

  • Betsy Martin, Instructor and Field Consultant, holds AMS Early Childhood certification from MEIPN, and her B.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology. Betsy teaches Early Childhood and Elementary subjects and works as a field consultant. She is now living in Selah, Washington and teaches in the Elementary program at the Montessori School of Yakima.

  • Christine Montagne-Heike, M.A., Instructor and Field Consultant, is a Washington state certified teacher with a B.A. in Speech and Hearing and a Masters in Special Education. Her Montessori Elementary I credential was obtained from MEIPN. Christine teaches Cosmic Education for MEIPN.

  • Julia Neely, Instructor and Field Consultant, holds AMS Early Childhood certification from Contra Costra College and is a teacher and co-director at Issaquah Montessori. Her bachelor’s degree is in Child Development. She teaches administration and observation for the Early Childhood level.

  • Tammy Oesting, Instructor, has a B.S. in Art and holds an AMS Early Childhood certificate from MEIPN.  She is the Director of Education and Rhythm Specialist at Montessori Children's house in Redmond.  She teaches Early Childhood Practical Life, History, Geography, Botany and Zoology.  She also teaches the MEIPN Montessori Assistant's Training course for the Infant-Toddler and Early Childhood levels.

  • Kristen Richter, Administrative Coordinator and Instructor, has a B.A. in landscape architecture and her AMS elementary I credential from MEIPN. She participated in the Teacher Leadership Project sponsored by the Gate’s Foundation. Kristen grew up in and around Montessori schools.  She most recently taught Elementary I at Woodinville Montessori School.  She now teaches at the MEIPN Elementary I level and is the administrative coordinator of the course.

  • Mary Schneider, M.S., Director and Instructor, is cofounder and Head of School at Woodinville Montessori School. She is AMS certified at the Early Childhood and Elementary I Levels and has over twenty years of teaching experience at both levels. She is a member of the AMS Teacher Education Committee, participated in the AMS Teacher’s Research Network, and is the Montessori representative to the Washington Federation of Independent Schools. She has written an art guide "Give Them Wings" for the Montessori classroom and has given many classes and workshops. She teaches math and classroom leadership for the Elementary I Level.

  • Pamela Stackhouse, Instructor, is a Washington State Certified Teacher with a B.A. in Education from Goddard College and AMS Early Childhood and Elementary I-II credentials from MEIPN.  Pamela has taught in Early Childhood and Elementary I-II classrooms.  She is currently teaching at Daniel Bagley Elementary School, a public Montessori program in Seattle.

  • Alison Stern M.Ed., Instructor, Alison has a M.Ed. from the University of Washington, Bothell, focusing on literacy development, instruction and assessment in the elementary grades.  She was a 2007 recipient of the Outstanding Master's Thesis award from AMS.  Alison holds her AMS Elementary I certificate from MEIPN and holds her Washington State teaching certificate for grades K-6.  She is the Lower Elementary teacher at the Whole Earth Montessori School in Bothell, WA.  In her spare time she enjoys weaving, gardening, running and reading.  Alison teaches the Geography and Physical Science portions of the MEIPN Elementary I course.

  • Debbie Walker M.A., Infant and Toddler Instructor and Field Consultant, has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A.in Christian Education.  She is AMS certified at the Infant and Toddler and Early Childhood levels.  She teaches Child, Family and Community and Programming, Leadership and Administration.

  • Diana Zegers, Instructor, is our music specialist. She is the author of Discover Music, and is a frequent presenter at national and regional Montessori conferences. She has AMS Early Childhood training, and is the founder, administrator, and a teacher at Barker Creek Montessori School.

In addition to the above faculty members MEIPN contracts with several highly skilled Montessori teachers to assist with field consultations for interns.