office@montessorichildrenshouse.org 518 Lloyd Avenue, Providence, RI 02906 | c (401) 331-6120

A Head of School and a Board of Directors carry out the Administration of the school. The Board meets on a monthly basis, with emergency meetings scheduled as necessary. Decisions concerning strategic planning, school policy, financial reviews and fundraising projects require a majority vote of the Board of Directors. The day to day functioning of the school is the province of the Head of School.

 

 

Tyanna Buie
Board Chair

A Chicago and Milwaukee native, Buie earned her BA from Western Illinois University and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has attended artists-in-residency programs, such as the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans, LA, The Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY, the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, and Project 1612 AIR in Morton, IL. Buie has received numerous awards such as; an emerging artist Mary L. Nohl Fellowship in 2012, the Love of Humanity Award from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the prestigious Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant in 2015, the 2019 Kresge Artist Fellowship in the Visual Arts, the 2019/2020 Grant Wood Fellowship in Printmaking at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA, the 2020 Fellowship.art award, a top accelerator award/program funded through gener8tor, and the 2023 Ruth Arts/Mary L Nohl Alumni Award. 

Buie has mounted several solo exhibitions including two 2021 solo exhibitions: Embodiment(s) at the Freeport [IL] Art Museum and Re/Faced at the South Bend [IN] Museum of Art. She has contributed to many group exhibitions including A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking Exhibition at Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis, MN (2021) Printmaking in the Twenty-First Century at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, MI (2022) Get Together at Reyes Finn in Detroit, MI (2023), Stop Making Sense, PLUS 1 at the Janice Charach Gallery, West Bloomfield Township, MI. Buie has also maintained a connection to the community by hosting printmaking workshops and demonstrations throughout the country and have been board members of Southern Graphics Conference International, Kennesaw, GA, and Bronzeville Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI. Buie’s work has been acquired by major institutions and private collections nationally and her work has been reviewed on Hyperallergic.com and featured on Essay’d.com and New American Paintings No. 155. 

Currently, Buie is an Associate Professor in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.

Lisa Berry Barbosa
Board Member

Lisa Berry Barbosa brings over 20 years of progressive management experience in the human resources discipline. Previously, she served as vice president of human resources at Commonwealth Care Alliance in Boston, MA, and vice president of human resources at Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital. Lisa was director of organizational development and diversity programs at Foxwoods Resort Casino, where she focused on talent management strategies, industrial education, and organizational behavior. Lisa also served in the United States Army Reserves, where she received an honorable discharge. She holds an MS degree from Johnson and Wales University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Boston University.

Scott O’Brien
Secretary

Scott O’Brien is currently a school administrator responsible for the Guidance Department and Admissions at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin, Massachusetts. Scott has worked at Tri-County for over 11 years. His work includes curriculum coordination, diversity and inclusion promotion, marketing, and oversight of the post-secondary planning process, as well as the school’s admissions process. Early work in education and child development started while he was working at the Child Development Center in the Infant/Toddler Classrooms while attending undergraduate studies at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. While attending Keene State he majored in Developmental Psychology, Education, and Social Science, earning two bachelor degrees and teacher certification in 2005. While attending graduate school at Assumption University, Scott concentrated on neuropsychological development in children and adolescents, earning a master’s degree in school counseling. Scott worked for 6 years as a mental health counselor at UMass Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 2010, Scott started working as a school counselor, and then earned his current position as the Head of Guidance and Admissions.

Karen Deinzer
Treasurer

Karen Deinzer is a certified Infant Toddler Credential Montessori Teacher with 36 plus years  experience in established Montessori schools both in Rhode Island, and New York City. Karen has 8 years experience as a Teacher Educator Program Instructor for adult learners attaining an Infant Toddler Montessori Credential both in NYC and China. Karen founded, owned and operated Cornerstone Montessori in North Kingstown, RI for 9 years which consisted of two toddler  environments and one early childhood environment. For the past 4 years, Karen has  traveled extensively overseas training adult learners in Montessori Schools to be credentialed, along with giving  workshops at conferences both in the US and overseas. Karen is the 2s  Coordinator of a well established Montessori school in New York City. Karen has one daughter  who resides in NYC and owns and operates her own Art Gallery.

Martha Teien
Board Member

Martha Teien is the Founding and Executive Director of Mountain Montessori in Avon, CO, which opened in 2004. She remains a lead guide in the primary classroom.
Martha’s Montessori training was completed through Montessori Educational Programs International (MEPI) in 1996 for the 3-6-year-old level. She obtained her Master of Education in Montessori at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, in 2010 and is currently enrolled in the first Montessori doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.  Martha graduated from the first cohort of the AMS Instructor Academy in 2023 to assist in her Montessori teacher training of adult learners during the summers.
In a continuing effort to support the Montessori Movement, Martha serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI). She also serves as the Rocky Mountain Commissioner on the Regional Action Commission (RAC) of the American Montessori Society.
Martha has five adult children and one grandchild who all began their education journey with Montessori.
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