Staff
Allyn S. Travis - Executive Director and Co-Director of Training, has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Michigan State University and a Master's Degree in Education from Loyola College in Maryland. She also holds both Primary and Elementary Diplomas from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and has over thirty years of experience in Montessori teaching both children and adults. Ms. Travis is the full time Administrator and Director of Training at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee. She is an AMI Elementary Teacher-Trainer, examiner, and school consultant, a member of AMI's Training Group, responsible for the training of new AMI teacher trainers and a past chair of the AMI/USA board.
J McKeever - Co-Director of Training, holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, as well as a Master of Arts Degree in Educational Processes and a secondary level teaching credential. She holds AMI Diplomas for Primary and Elementary levels and has spent almost twenty years in Montessori elementary classrooms with various combinations of the 6-12 age group. Ms. McKeever is a past board member of the Elementary Alumni Association, and is an AMI examiner and school consultant at the Elementary level. She has also presented workshops and in-service practica on American history, ecology, classroom management, art, drama, and writing.
Phyllis Pottish-Lewis holds a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology from UCLA and is licensed as a California Medical Technologist. She received her AMI Primary Diploma from the Montessori Institute of Los Angeles in 1971 and her AMI Elementary Diploma from the Washington Montessori Institute in 1977. Ms. Pottish-Lewis has over thirty years of classroom experience and two years of experience as Administrator of a Montessori school. She is an AMI Teacher-Trainer at the Elementary level, an AMI school consultant, an AMI examiner and a past chairperson of the Montessori Elementary Alumni Association.
Naoko Ogawa is an AMI primary trainer. She was born and grew up in Tokyo, Japan. She received her B.A. in childhood education from Tokyo Gakugei University in Tokyo, and has a teacher certification in preschool and elementary school in Japan. She received her M.Ed. in Montessori education from Loyola College in Maryland. Naoko has teacher training experience in the Philippines, Japan, China, and the United States.
Janet McDonell is the Director of Training for the Primary Level at the Washington Montessori Institute at Loyola College. She is also trained at the Elementary level and for Montessori Special Education. She has a B.A. in literature from the University of Wisconsin and an M.Ed in Montessori education from Loyola College in Maryland. She has over 20 years teaching and administrative work in Montessori schools with children of widely varied backgrounds. Janet has been training teachers for 15 years. She is an examiner for AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) and a school consultant for AMI/USA. She also serves as a board member of AMI/USA. Janet is the head of the Training Group which oversees the international Training of Trainers Program for AMI.
Sarah A. Gordon, Administrative Assistant at MIM. She has a B.A. in Intercultural Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Sarah also attended the Tec De Monterrey (ITESM) campus in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She has studied abroad and been an exchange student multiple times and looks forward to helping foreign or relocating students with the transition to the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee, as well as welcoming them to our beautiful city. Sarah has been a diversity trainer and cultural awareness advocate for many years and she is member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe Tribe and enjoys sharing her culture with other people.
Information Session
Come visit the training center for an Information Session about our
upcoming course to become a Montessori elementary teacher.
Tuesday, May 28th at 5:30 p.m.
Meet members of the staff and graduates of the program. Learn about the
M.Ed. option, and financial aid possibilities.
Milwaukee has the largest public Montessori program in the country!
Teachers are needed. Every journey begins with a single step. Take the
step!
Reservations are recommended.
Please call or email Sarah
Tel: (414) 481-5050









