Who We Are

Our Mission

Expand access to quality, child-centered education through a network of public and community-based Montessori schools.

Statement of Values

Montessori Partnerships for Georgia is founded in deep respect for the power and potential of every child. In making decisions, we hold the highest interests of the child in mind.

As an organization, we strive to embody the vibrancy of a Montessori environment:

  • We embrace challenges as opportunities.
  • We work by building connections among people and organizations, leveraging each one’s strengths to build synergy and momentum.
  • We are an inclusive community, celebrating the ways our differences enrich our work. Through relationship-building and deep listening, we face the issues of race, class and inequity that pervade our culture, so that they may be transformed through our shared work.

Our Staff

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Annie Frazer, Executive Director

Patricia Winfrey is a highly accomplished program manager with more than a decade of experience in early childhood education. She has been active in Montessori education since enrolling her son in Montessori school in 2007. Beginning as a parent volunteer, she later completed her AMI Primary training at the Montessori Institute of Atlanta and has since served in various roles as a teacher, Director of Operations, Head of School, and as an administrator for the International Montessori Training Institute teacher training center. She also has experience in traditional preschools, having worked as director of a faith-based early childhood center. In addition to her background in early childhood education, Patricia brings a wealth of diverse leadership and management experience, having retired honorably as a Human Resources Manager in the U.S. Army.

Patricia has a B.S. from Coker College in Business Management, an M.S. from Kansas State University in Adult & Continuing Education, and an M. Ed from Loyola University Maryland.

Annie Frazer has a passion for expanding access to high-quality Montessori education. She attended Montessori schools through age twelve and graduated from Grady High School in the Atlanta Public Schools. She holds a BA in English and theater from Oberlin College, an MA in education from Stanford University, an AMI Montessori elementary diploma from the Bergamo Montessori Training Centre, and AMI Montessori certification at the adolescent level. Before founding Montessori Partnerships for Georgia, Annie worked for ten years as a Montessori adolescent teacher and administrator at Arbor Montessori School in Atlanta and worked as a middle school teacher in DeKalb County Schools.

 

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Patricia Winfrey, Program Manager

Board of Directors

Renee Carter-Woods

Renee Carter-Woods

Renee Carter-Woods has been a elementary Montessori teacher in Georgia’s public schools since 2001. An experienced teacher-leader, she has worked in both the DeKalb County School District and the Savannah-Chatham County School System and has a unique perspective on the needs of public Montessori students and staff.

Erin Littles

Erin Littles

Erin Littles is a Montessori-educated parent of two Montessori alumni. Her love for community started young, when she would spend weekends with her father registering voters and getting community petitions signed.  She has turned that love for community into a career working with educational non-profits, and currently works as the Southeast Region Portfolio Manager for AmeriCorps.

Jennifer Dorrell

Jennifer Dorrell

Jennifer Dorrell holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and a Montessori EL I-II credential from the American Montessori Society. She has taught in both lower and upper elementary Montessori classes for the last 20 years, and currently works as a Montessori teacher trainer through the Montessori Teacher Education Institute of Atlanta.

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Anne Ledoux

Anne is a Montessori teacher at Arbor Montessori School with 13 years’ experience leading Montessori classrooms. She is committed to spreading the word about quality Montessori education and is excited to be working with Montessori Partnerships for Georgia. Anne holds an M.Ed. from Loyola University and a B.A. in sociology from the University of Maryland.

Beth Whalen

Beth Whalen

Beth Whalen is an American Montessori Society certified educator at Charles Ellis Montessori Academy in Savannah, Georgia, where she serves as a Montessori coach. As the 2022-2023 Savannah Chatham County District Teacher of the Year, she is excited about the opportunity to sprinkle Montessori values across the district and to help set new Montessori teachers up for success in Georgia.

Jaimie Holt

Jaimie Holt

Jaimie Holt, CPA, is a former Montessori student. Jaimie works as a senior consultant at Baker Tilly, working in Global Forensics and Litigation Services. She holds a BS from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Master of Science in Accounting with a Certificate in Forensic Accounting from George Mason University.

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Ian Parker

Dr. Ian Parker is the Senior Equity Associate of Early Care and Learning for the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University. Ian holds a PhD in Education Administration and Policy from the University of Georgia; a Master of Arts in Teaching Early Childhood Education from Mercer University; and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Morehouse College.