Meet Our Board

MINW's Board of Directors is a keystone of our ongoing expansion and success. Selected for their expertise, professionalism, and dedication to the growth of Montessori, these individuals volunteer their time and energy to plan and secure MINW's long-term goals. We are grateful to them for their service to us and to the Montessori community.

Rob Lee, President

Rob Lee actively promotes Montessori education to help promote the standard of living worldwide and cultivate peace. He is a Montessori parent. With a legal and accounting background, he holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Lewis & Clark College and a graduate degree from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark. Rob is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Randal Children’s Hospital Foundation at Legacy Emanuel.  He is the past President and Treasurer of the Oregon Hospice Association. Previously, he was a trustee for the Good Samaritan Foundation and Emanuel Hospital Foundation. Rob is currently Chairman of the Board of Bates Group LLC, past President of Bates Private Capital, Inc. and a former Managing Director of LECG, a public company.

Sorrel Arends, Secretary

Sorrel has been a Montessori Elementary guide for ten years and is currently a lower elementary guide at Childpeace Montessori School in Portland.  She holds an AMI Elementary diploma from the Washington Montessori Institute in Baltimore with Kay Baker and Greg McDonald and an AMI Primary diploma from MINW with Ginni Sackett and Shannon Helfrich.  Sorrel also attended Montessori school as a child.

Kristen Grau, Treasurer

Kristen is an Oregon native with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – Accounting from Portland State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant working as a Senior Accountant at Delap LLP and is a member of the Oregon Society of CPAs.  She enjoys working in learning environments and believes that teachers are invaluable to our society’s success.

Melissa Harbert

Melissa has been involved in Montessori education directly and indirectly for 34 years.  She is a graduate of the first MINW Primary training course and has experience in the Primary classroom, administration, and in the development of Montessori schools.  She has worked in adult education and has long-standing ties with the Portland Montessori community.  Melissa is currently the Head of School at the Lewis and Clark Montessori Charter School in Gresham, OR.

Gitanjali Jain

Biography coming soon

Leslie Logan

Leslie has 22 years of experience in Montessori classrooms, 6 years in public school special education and 5 years in Montessori administration.  She holds an AMI Primary diploma from the Atlanta Institute Primary Training Center.  After several years of working in the classroom and Montessori administration, Leslie served as President of the Atlanta training center board.  In an attempt to become a better-prepared special education teacher, Leslie discovered Montessori and it has led to a passion for working with children and adults in a Montessori setting.

Chris Finley

Chris is a Montessori parent and active promoter of Montessori education.   He is a co-founder of SurveyMonkey. He is a current Board member of a Portland based technology start-up, HiringThing. Chris holds a BA in Urban Geography from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and spent time studying abroad at Sheffield University in England. His philanthropic support focuses on nonprofit organizations specializing in education, and social and economic development.

Carol Briggs

Carol is a Montessori parent with experience working in sales, marketing, and management for the Xerox Corporation.  Most recently she has worked as the Assistant to the Development Director for West Hills Christian School.  She has a degree in Business Administration from Lewis & Clark College and has volunteered with several organizations including Northwest Children’s Outreach.

Peter Davidson

After 27 years as Head of School at Montessori School of Beaverton, Oregon, Peter is currently living in Southern California where he serves in an auxiliary administrative capacity with Montessori in Redlands.  Peter is part of the team of presenters for the annual Whole School Montessori training for new Heads of School, and has presented seminars to administrators internationally.  He holds the AMI Primary diploma from Edgecliff College, and taught at that level for six years before moving into administration.  He also serves on the board of the Montessori Administrators Association and the Association Montessori Internationale.

Dr. Steven Hughes

Steven J.  Hughes, PhD, LP, ABPdN is an assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and also maintains a private practice.  Dr. Hughes completed his PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota and his post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he joined the faculty of the Division of Pediatric Clinical Neurosciences in 2001.  His research interests include measurement of attention and executive functioning in children and adults, the effects of living in poverty on child development, and the neurodevelopmental benefits of classical Montessori education.  Dr. Hughes is also a Montessori parent.