Faculty and Board of Directors

Tamara holds a BS in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s Degree in Education from Loyola College.  She began her career in education teaching English as a Second Language to pre-schoolers in Austin, Texas.   She completed her AMI training at the Montessori Institute of the Northwest, in Portland, Oregon.   Tamara served as a Primary guide at the Post Oak School in Houston, Texas for six and a half years.  Most recently she was the Associate Admission Director for Post Oak’s adolescent campus in the heart of Houston’s Museum District.  Her experience with children, families, and colleagues in this role affirmed her belief in Dr. Montessori’s work and inspired her as both a teacher and a parent. She enjoys introducing new families to Montessori education and nurturing relationships with families in the community.  She also enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, traveling, reading, and listening to great music especially live or on vinyl.

Maria was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and grew up in Atlanta, Ga. She moved to Oregon with her partner after a visit, falling in love with Corvallis and its community. She was introduced to Montessori education at the Philomath Montessori School, where she worked as a substitute. 

Maria was an Assistant in both the Primary and Toddler environments at CMS before receiving her Primary training through the North American Montessori Training Center in Vancouver, BC. She is delighted to serve as the guide in the Hazelnut room. Maria enjoys baking, spending time with children, collecting house plants, and exploring the outdoors with her partner and dog.

Ana was born in Mexico and grew up in Hood River, OR. She received her Montessori toddler training through the North American Montessori Training Center, Vancouver, BC. Ana enjoys reading and playing softball.

Stephanie was raised in Minnesota, where she received a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Minnesota in 1996.  First introduced to Montessori philosophy while working as an Elementary Assistant in Portland, Oregon, Stephanie earned her AMI Primary degree in 1999 at the Montessori Institute Northwest in Portland, and shortly thereafter came to CMS.  Attending annual Montessori refresher courses keeps her practice fresh and offers her inspiration.  She loves animals, gardening, and the natural world, particularly the peacefulness of living in her countryside home tucked in the woods. She spends much of her free time cross-country skiing, rafting, backpacking, and practicing Bikram’s yoga.

This New Yorker who graduated with BA English and de facto degree in event programming was on the path of music booking agent when he veered toward more heart-centered work by landing at Honolulu International Airport in 2002 where he quickly began what has become a 21-year career in Montessori.

Prior to arriving in Corvallis, Jeffrey canvassed many areas of Montessori: Primary Assistant, Primary Guide, Community Development Director, Adolescent Program Director and Guide, Intergenerational Montessori Director for Aging & Dementia, and Primary Guide Consultant. Most of this work was baed on Oahu and Maui, complimented by moments in Oregon, Uruguay, and New Mexico. 

Jena started at CMS as an elementary assistant in 2014. She completed her Montessori Infant/Toddler training program at the North American Montessori Center in 2016. Jena graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Biological Sciences and from Oregon State University with a Master’s of Applied Systematics in Botany.

Ida has been a lead guide at CMS since 2021. In 2018 she discovered Montessori education when she began working as an assistant in a primary classroom and fell in love with it. In 2021 she began her AMI Primary training at Montessori Northwest in Portland and completed her training in July 2022. Ida loves playing music, cycling, reading, and gardening in her spare time.

Kyle works as the Director of Government Relations for The Nature Conservancy Oregon. He enjoys salmon fishing, bird hunting, camping, and rafting rivers across the American West with his son Jack and wife Tiffany.  Kyle’s interest in early childhood education began at a young age with his mother who worked as a Reggio Emilia preschool teacher and public-school administrator. Kyle holds a BS in Environmental Science and Regional Planning from Washington State University, a MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Oregon.

Cassie and her family moved to Corvallis in December 2017 for jobs at OSU. She earned her PhD in chemistry from Harvard University and is now an instructor in the chemistry department, where she teaches general chemistry and environmental chemistry. She and her husband, Nick (an atmospheric scientist), have lived in the Boston area, Seattle, and San Diego, and are now totally in love with Corvallis. They enjoy spending time outdoors with their three kids—hiking, backpacking, and skiing especially.

Dawn is a native Oregonian that has lived up and down the west coast before landing in Corvallis almost 8 years ago. Dawn received her BS in Mathematics from the University of Oregon and her MS in Quantitative Ecology from the University of Washington, where she met her husband Brandon, who was also in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences with her. Dawn is currently a fisheries scientist and program director at The Nature Conservancy. Dawn, Brandon, and their two daughters love travel and outdoor adventures. They love hiking, fishing, paddling, and exploring and are continually adding new hobbies that keep them outside in the woods, coasts, and waters of the PNW.

Seth moved to Corvallis with his family from New York City in 2021. They chose Corvallis after researching several small cities looking for a balance of nature and civilization, and immediately fell in love with the abundance of natural beauty, clean air and friendly people of Oregon.

Seth’s wife, Rachel, attended a Montessori preschool in Maryland and remembers it fondly. While Seth never attended a Montessori school himself, he thinks highly of the aim of fostering independence in children at an early age and the approach of having children choose their own activities much of the time.

Seth studied aerospace engineering at MIT and began his career as a software engineer, first in life sciences then in finance. Over the past decade, Seth has been the VP of Engineering or CTO  of several software companies, where he developed a range of management and leadership skills. He’s passionate about education and motivated to deploy these skills to the benefit of CMS and it’s community of families.

Joel was born and raised in Corvallis, Oregon. Growing up in the community, he has been involved in a variety of local institutions as a graphic designer, musician, brand manager at the First Alternative Coop, and now the Assistant Director of Digital Marketing and Marketing Intelligence at Oregon State University Ecampus. He brings more than 14+ years of marketing, design and community dialogue to his service on the Board. His family have a love for good food and time outdoors on local hiking trails (Finley Wildlife Refuge is a favorite).

He and his wife Sarah both come from a family of educators and believe that Montessori education cultivates thoughtfulness and social/emotional values at a critical phase of life. Their son Sloan joined the Ginkgo classroom in 2022 and has thrived amongst his peers and teachers. Their younger son Finley joined the Ginkgo classroom in the Fall of 2023 and has already benefited from the value of the Montessori community.

Born and raised in the Corvallis area, Jared is deeply connected to this community. Jared is a lifelong learner with a love for reading, audiobooks, conferences, and business associations. He and his wife Cheliss founded Thayer Construction in 2014 with little more than a Geo Metro and a laptop. Originally, they completed handiwork but have now evolved into a full-service residential design and build company.

The Thayers have two boys at CMS, Solomon (4) and Amon (2), with another son on the way! In 2020 they settled their growing family into a home right across the street from Garfield Park and next to Jared’s Grandfather’s home, just down the street from CMS. They absolutely love the Corvallis community and are committed to putting their resources toward improving it.

Jill has her Masters in Education and has enjoyed experiencing various roles in public schools; from teaching kindergarten, to working as a school specialist in the area of social and emotional learning, to teaching middle school health and PE. In May of 2022 she completed her postgraduate Administrative Leadership License, in pursuit of becoming a School Principal. Her interest in serving on the Board stems from her passion for education and community.

In Jill’s free time, she practices and teaches yoga. Jill’s husband, Matt, is a PE teacher and a High School Basketball coach. The Hein’s oldest daughter, Quincy, is in Bamboo and Jill gets the pleasure of staying home this year to raise their youngest daughter, Florence, until she can attend Montessori too! As a family, the Heins are often hiking with their dog, Hank, gardening, tending to their flock of backyard chickens, and creating any and all DIY house projects!

Emily is a native Oregonian residing mostly in the Portland area. She graduated with a BSN from Linfield College in 2011 and worked as a nurse in the trauma surgical ICU at OHSU for 5 years which is also where she met her husband. They moved to Corvallis in 2016 for her husband’s job as a urologist at Samaritan.  Emily has since stepped away from bedside nursing and started her own medical aesthetics business here in Corvallis. Their daughter, Myla, started out in the Willow classroom in 2022 and is currently in Bamboo. Their son Hudson will be coming to Montessori next year. Some things they love to do as a family is travel, ski, and go camping in their RV.

Thanks to the compassion of CMS faculty and their excellent execution of the Montessori methods, our daughter has experienced remarkable growth as a compassionate, curious, and independent child.  For that I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to give back to CMS as a member of the board. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from this diverse community of faculty, parents, and my fellow board members. I hope to add value to CMS with my proficiency in project and risk management, and my experience in lean principles and strategic deployment.   

My wife, Brittany, and I moved back to Corvallis in July 2021. We welcomed our first child, Lois, that Fall. Brittany and I met in Corvallis in 2009 while attending OSU. Brittany is a film producer for an agency and I am a project manager for an engineering firm.  Lois and our careers are great at keeping our hands full. However, we both enjoy residential remodeling, film, music, podcasts, softball, and hosting social events. I also enjoy snowboarding, mountain biking, OSU athletics, and tinkering with old mechanical things. If these things excite you or there’s a topic you want to discuss over a nice walk or a cold beer, reach out!

jack.link@corvallismontessori.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackhlink/

John, his wife Erin, daughter Madeleine and flock of chickens moved to Corvallis from Portland Oregon in 2021. This is a return to a beloved place for John as, in addition to unforgettable memories and friends, he received a B.S. and M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Oregon State University.  While in Portland, John served on the Humboldt Neighborhood Association board for over three years.

He currently is working as a manager of planning and analysis with a focus on long-term regional power system planning at the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. His most recent work has been a confluence of project management, mathematical modeling, analyses and public policy. He spends his free time playing disc golf, hiking, playing music and experimenting with gardening, natural building, beekeeping, food forestry, fermentation and adaptive regenerative systems. 

As a former teacher from a family of teachers, he appreciates the value of well-crafted education for his daughter and others in the community and is excited for the opportunity to help maintain and enhance the CMS experience for this and future classes.

Spencer and his family have lived in the Corvallis area for 12 years. Spencer owns and operates Heart of the Valley Construction, building custom homes and additons in the Corvallis area. Arlo (5yrs) recently completed 2 years in the Willow class. Cooper (3yrs) now attends in the Maple room. His wife, Chelsea, is a rock-star stay-at-home momma, raising Bodhi (1yr) and wrangling the two older brothers.

With a background in Project Management, Spencer strives to bring efficiency and camaraderie to all things in his life, including CMS and the Corvallis community.

When the Dixon’s aren’t working, you can find them camping, mountain biking, rafting or playing in the woods.