You are voting for 4 vacancies for the Michigan Montessori Society governing board:
Barb Barnes is the founder of North Star Montessori, in Jackson, MI. With over 24 years of experience specializing in Montessori Education. Currently, Barb is working as the director and lead teacher where she is passionate about providing children an authentic Montessori experience indoors and out on their natural play yard. Barb holds a BA in Sociology and a 7-12th grade teaching degree with a focus in Social Sciences and Spanish from Kalamazoo College, and an Elementary K-6th teaching degree through Spring Arbor College, as well as a Montessori Preprimary Credential through ADMTEI. She enjoys time in nature (especially up north on the beach of Lake Huron), reading, listening to music, and spending time with her family and friends. She is a current member of the Board and serves as its Treasurer.
Karen Lumsden has been the owner and administrator of Children’s Place Montessori in Farmington Hills since 1985. She opened her first school, Open Meadow Montessori, in 1978 with her husband who is also Montessori trained. She has her BS in Music Education and her MA in Early Childhood Curriculum Development. Karen taught general music in public schools for many years in addition to teaching Montessori. She received her Orff Schulwerk training in Salzburg, Austria in 1972 and operated the Orff Music School for Children with her mother, also an Orff trained music teacher, in the 70’s. She is married with two grown Montessori children and has six grandchildren, only one of whom currently attends her school (All others have graduated). She is a current member of the Board and serves as its President.
Emily Myers earned her Bachelor of Science in Montessori Pre‑Primary Education from Xavier University in 1988 and has dedicated her career to educating young children. She began teaching at the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland, before joining the public Montessori program in Prince George’s County. While raising her family in Maryland, she was actively involved with Okeos, A Foundation for Education, whose mission was creating public Montessori programs nationwide. Thirty years ago her family moved to Michigan and she joined the staff at Ferndale Montessori Center. For many years Emily taught math and geography at MMTEC and she loved her time teaching adults. Now Emily is the owner and director of Ferndale Montessori and still enjoys spending time with the children every day. She is a current member of the Board and serves as the Fall Conference chair.
Lacey Rogers began her Montessori career in 2014 at a small school in Bay City. After several years of being an assistant, she began working as a Lead Guide and Director while earning her AMS Primary credential in 2020 through ADMTEI in Adrian, Michigan. Following a relocation later that year to the Lansing area, she began working at Montessori Radmoor in Okemos. From 2022-2024 she worked to earn her AMI 0-3 credential through SIMS in Phoenix, Arizona. Wanting to gain even more knowledge in the Montessori field, she completed her Master’s Degree in Montessori Education through the University of Loyola, Maryland in May 2025. In the fall of 2025, she started a Specialist degree program through the University of Florida in Curriculum and Instruction, which should be completed in 2027. Lacey is currently a Lead Primary Guide at Montessori Radmoor, where her two daughters also attend. In her free time, she enjoys watching her children’s sporting activities, spending time up north with family, and playing clarinet in a community band when time allows.
Denise Van Pelt has served on the MMS board for 6 years. She is on the Spring Gathering committee, the Newsletter committee and is chair of the Advocacy committee. She strongly believes in bringing Montessori to the community through educating parents and other community members about Montessori philosophy and is dedicated to helping both Montessorians and non-Montessorians learn more about Montessori. She obtained AMI training at the primary level in 1996 through the Washington Montessori Institute and completed AMI 6-12 in April 2026 through the Montessori Center of Minnesota. She has been teaching for twenty-five years, the past twelve at Grand Rapids Montessori School. She moved from teaching in the Children’s House to the Lower Elementary class in 2022. Denise has been involved in the Montessori community since childhood, having been a Montessori student herself and experiencing it as a parent when children attended Montessori school and now as her career. Denise is married with two grown children and two dogs. She enjoys many outdoor activities and a variety of puzzles.