

Most recently, as Director of Conference Operations and a member of the Core Executive Team for Youth for a Better World, LLC, she trained Montessori teachers, chaired committees and inspired elementary and adolescent students to become young change-makers through programs such as Montessori Model United Nations.
Michele has a long-standing dedication and commitment to true Montessori excellence, AMI standards, and the Washington Montessori Institute, itself, as a flourishing teacher-training program. Her four children attended Montessori schools through 6th grade, and her daughter graduated from WMI in 2017.
Michele is also a portrait photographer specializing in children’s portraiture, and a workshop instructor for Michele Jeanine Photography.



A native of suburban Chicago, Alex’s interest in Montessori education is long-standing, having attended a primary program there in the late 1970’s. Alex’s two children attended an Annapolis-area Montessori program for their entire primary and elementary educations, and her son graduated from a Montessori adolescent program in 8th grade. Alex’s experience as an active member of that vibrant Montessori community, as well as her appreciation for her children’s educational development, has made her a passionate advocate for Montessori education.
Alex graduated Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in International Relations and Communications, and she holds her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University.

DC. Originally from the midwest, she began her Montessori journey as a primary student and
rediscovered Montessori as a young adult through volunteer work at Nightingale Montessori in
Springfield, OH. Keely has worked in education for 25 years, guiding children at both the Primary
and Adolescent levels in school, library, and residential settings before transitioning into
development and administrative roles in independent schools.
Keely earned an early childhood certificate in Montessori education from the Seton Montessori
Institute (MECA-Seton) in 2001 and served for several years as a primary guide at Montessori
Habitat School in Champaign, Illinois and at Hudson Montessori School in NE Ohio. She holds a
B.A. from Wittenberg University and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
Keely and her husband Dan are parents to two Montessori students, one in Lower Elementary and the
other now in college. Keely is committed to making high quality Montessori education accessible to
all.

