"My children benefit from the unique education provided by Montessori East which has proven to be responsive to their individual personalities, needs and interests and supportive of our whole family. As a Director of the Board I am fortunate to be able to assist the school to expand its impact.”

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Sara has worked as a commercial lawyer, specialising in intellectual property for 15 years. She worked in law firms in Sydney and London and in-house at the University of Sydney. Sara and her husband’s four children attend Montessori East and are enrolled in the KIN 0-3 program, Cycles 1 and 2 classrooms. 

“Joining the ME board has been a wonderful opportunity to combine my passion for the school and my professional interests in general management, strategy and brand development.  In a board capacity, I have gained an even deeper appreciation for the ME staff and management team who have demonstrated tremendous creativity, perseverance and open-mindedness to their roles."

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Elizabeth and her husband moved from New York City in 2012 where she worked as a management consultant in the healthcare industry and later the chief of staff in a multi-billion dollar healthcare services organisation.  Since moving to Sydney, Elizabeth has founded a consultancy.  She is a Montessori alumnus and daughter of a Montessori educator and quite eagerly found Montessori East for her two daughters who have been part of the community since birth.

"We chose Montessori East for our family because we instantly felt the strong community presence and how much the children are valued and cared for. The teachers and staff have created a warm and welcoming environment while maintaining a high standard of Montessori education." 

 

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Kevin is an experienced Chartered Accountant and treasury in Australia and the UK, including JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, AMP and Rathbone Brothers. His expertise spans end-to-end accounting functions, including financial control, system analytics, hedge accounting, financial statement preparation and treasury operations.  

"I see the Montessori East Board as an extension of the wonderful and diverse Montessori East community of families and friends. I've enjoyed bringing my background in strategy and environmental not-for-profits to the Board, and taking the opportunity both to learn and contribute to the school's progress."

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Since 2012 Phil has worked for WWF (the World Wide Fund for Nature), where he brings together his formal education in environmental law and visual arts. Through his work Phil has come to appreciate how much education is the cornerstone of positive change. Phil and his partner Kristina have two children at Montessori East.

"The Montessori culture fosters a sense of independent, self-directed learning, and I have witnessed the tremendous personal growth of my two children; starting out as shy toddlers to the confident tweens they are today. I like that ME has a very collaborative relationship with parents, alumni and the surrounding Bondi community.”

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After stints in the US, Europe and Asia, Suan moved to Australia in 2008 to head up Google’s Enterprise SMB business for Asia-Pacific. Six years ago, he took on the challenge of starting the education business unit for the region. This has proved to be his most challenging yet rewarding effort to date. Google has been his home for the last 16 years, working in 7 offices, 5 countries and 3 product teams. Suan resides in Sydney with his wife and two children both currently at Montessori East.

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