Miss Julia
Teacher, Owner, Director
Miss Julia has been a teacher at Montessori Discovery Center since 2012 and has been a co-owner since 2014. She grew up in Salem, attending MDC. After high school she received her BA in Psychology, minor in Spanish, and later receiving her AMS Montessori degree in Boise, ID. She taught Montessori for 5 years in Boise, Idaho before moving back to Salem in 2012 to teach at Montessori Discovery Center. Miss Julia enjoys running, hiking, and the outdoors.
Miss Christy (Electric)
Teacher, Owner, Director
Miss. Christy has been a teacher at Montessori Discovery Center since 2014 and has been a co-owner since 2024. She started with MDC as a preschool student and continued her education at Chemeketa CC and WOU. Miss. Christy began teaching professional ballet, jazz and hip-hop dance in 2003 and coached the SSHS dance program from 2005-2014. She began teaching Spanish at MDC in 2014 and has continued her career with MDC as a primary teacher. Miss. Christy enjoys traveling, dance and the arts, outdoors, football and family.
Miss Jessica Dent (Promontory)
Primary Teacher
Miss Jessica has been with MDC since 2014, and holds an international certification for Montessori Primary. She has been teaching in the classroom since 2020, and loves nurturing her students to their full potential. Jessica grew up in Salem, and is one of seven children.. Some of Miss Jessica’s passions, besides teaching, are exploring the outdoors with her husband, Arthur, spending time with her family, and playing with her rabbit Peter and miniature dachshund, Wiley.
Miss Rosie Norlander (Promontory)
Elementary Teacher
Rosie grew up camping and hiking in the mountains of New Mexico where she developed her love of being outdoors. She holds a B.S, in Ecology from OSU’s College of Forestry and has worked for years as an Environmental Educator. She loves to spend time outside hiking or working in the garden and is also an avid knitter and seamstress. She’s been a part of the MDC community since 2017 as a parent and joined the staff in 2021 as the upper elementary assistant.
Miss Jemima Vanwalk (Promontory)
Elementary Director, Teacher, Art Teacher
Miss Jemima has international certifications in Primary, Lower, and Upper Elementary Montessori, and specialized training in dyslexia, neurodevelopmental needs, and autism. She holds a B.A. in management with an emphasis in education. Jemima is a former instructor for the Corvallis Art Center, and an abstract artist and performance painter. Before teaching, she was a chef, working in restaurants and catering, and has been working in Montessori since 2004, teaching in both Primary and Elementary. Jemima has 2 adult children, and is married to a musician and video artist.
Miss Reba Berdakin
Assistant Director
Miss Reba grew up on a homestead farm in Beaverton raising goats, chickens and exploring the outdoors. After completing her music education at Longy School of Music and Berklee College of Music in Boston, Reba studied culinary arts at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. She then went on to work as a professional singer, chef and teaching music and cooking to children in Boston and Los Angeles. Reba opened 2 cooking schools for children in Boston and Los Angeles before moving to Salem where she is the Assistant Director at Montessori Discovery Center, teaches voice lessons and occasionally might be the chef at local events. Reba loves spending her free time with her husband and daughter in the garden, camping and traveling.
Miss Emily Walters (Electric)
Primary Teacher
Miss. Emily grew up in Dallas, Oregon and graduated from Western Oregon University. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Miss. Emily has taught and guided elementary aged children for the past six years and is excited to now work at the Montessori Discovery Center. Her time at home is most enjoyed when she is reading, drawing and baking.
Miss Serena
Primary Teacher Assistant
Miss. Serena, born and raised in Salem and has always enjoyed working with children. She began her journey in high school particpating in a preschool program and teaching ballet to preschool and elementary students. Even before becoming a mother she knew she wanted to use Montessori principals at home and began her Montessori studies before her son, Elias was born. Before joining MDC, Miss. Serena worked as a Montessori nanny and content creator, supporting families in developing practical life and self-care skills for children under six. In her free time, she enjoys thrifting, gardening, and spending time with her family.
Miss Vickie Awalt (Promontory)
Primary Teacher Assistant
Miss Vickie has worked with children and Montessori method for over 35 years, and began her training at the Montessori Children’s House in Salem when she was 16 years old. She has taken various Montessori workshops and trainings in Eugene, Portland, and San Diego. Her daughter attended MDC as a child. Miss Vickie enjoys the beach, Sunriver, and spending time with her family.
Miss Ashley Boderman (Promontory)
Elementary Substitute
Graduated from Western Oregon University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Worked for Head Start as a lead preschool teacher for 9 years until becoming a stay at home mom for 5 years and is a mom of two. Has been a part of MDC since 2019 as a parent and started working at the Promontory campus last year as an assistant. She loves animals(has 3 cats of her own), working with children and families, spending time outdoors, camping and traveling, running and spending time with family and friends.
Miss Palka Iyengar (Promontory)
Elementary Assistant Teacher
Bio Coming Soon!
Miss Mackenzie Huddleston (Electric)
Assistant Teacher
Bio Coming Soon!
Miss Brenda Sterner (Promontory)
Elementary Poetry Workshop Teacher, Elementary Substitute
Miss Brenda is a recently retired chef, and completed the L.B.C.C. culinary arts program in 1998. She formerly taught public elementary and middle school in Colorado and pre-K at MDC. She holds a B.S in elementary education with a minor in English from Texas Tech University, a M.A. in gifted education with a minor in reading and language arts from the University of Colorado, and a primary Montessori certificate from NAMC.
Brenda is a life long poet, journal writer, and enjoys painting and art journaling. She loves cooking regional and international cuisine, and enjoys hiking on both forest and mountain trails with her husband, and their huge sweet German Shepherd.
Miss Kate Pollard (Promontory)
Elementary Teacher Assistant
Miss Kate grew up on the East Coast and lived in Houston, Texas for 8 years before making her way to the PNW in 2017. She has a BA in English and Intercultural Studies as well as a MASF from George Fox University. Kate and her 3 kids have been a part of the MDC community for the last 6 years, and she loves incorporating both her therapeutic background and her passion for coming alongside families with neurodivergent kids into her teaching role. When not in the classroom, Kate can usually be found reading, gardening, baking, hiking, cheering loudly from soccer sidelines, or embracing new outdoors adventures.
Miss Lindsay Marie Grenz (Promontory)
Elementary Teacher
Miss Lindsay grew up in Salem, and studied Economics at Oregon State University. She holds international certifications in both Primary and Lower Elementary Montessori, and has been at Montessori Discovery Center since 2013. Lindsay has a specialized interest and practice in the Montessori method of reading and phonetic accomplishment. She enjoys baking, knitting, being outdoors, and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Miss Renee Quiner (Electric)
Assistant Teacher
MIss Renee started MDC in Spring of 2022 as an assistant in Miss Lindsay’s class. She spent most of her life in Oregon and the Salem area where she graduated from Douglas Mckay High School in ’95. When she’s not busy with her four children she enjoys video gaming, hiking and walking at the park.
Miss Tristin Janis (Promontory)
Assistant Teacher
Miss Tristin loves spending time in the classroom teaching and learning from her students. She grew up in Wyoming before making the trek to Oregon and has been teaching dance and in the montessori classroom for 5 years now. She enjoys sharing school with her son and when she is not in the classroom, Miss Tristin can most often be found snuggling with her 2 adorable kittens and going on family adventures.
Miss Danielle Wren (Promontory)
Elementary Assistant Teacher
Miss. Danielle spent most of her life in Indiana, where she earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from Indiana University. She taught sixth grade for six years before spending the next eight years in East Tennessee. Her love of Halloween brought her to the Pacific Northwest in 2023 for a Halloween festival, where she and her husband fell in love with Oregon. Miss. Danielle joined MDC in the spring of 2024, made the move cross-country, and has never looked back!
Miss Rachel Scheuermann (Electric)
Primary Teacher
Miss Rachel began working as a substitute assistant at MDC while still in high school. She continues to assist at the Electric Avenue campus, and loves to be around children. Rachel is an award winning singer, having placed in musical theater at the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. She is an avid animal lover, and inspires others through her kindness.
Miss Tamara (Promontory)
Primary Teacher Assistant
Miss Tamara is a Bay Area native and has been living in Salem since 2003. She earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in Interior Design from The Art Institute of Portland. Tamara has taken multiple courses in Child Psychology and holds an international certification in Montessori Lower Elementary. Her son has attended MDC since Primary. She loves crafting, baking, and going on walks with her family and their pug.
Miss Jesse Sommers (Promontory)
Reading Specialist, Elementary
Bio Coming Soon!
Miss Ashley Howard (Electric)
Reading Specialist, Elementary
Bio Coming Soon!
Miss Ann
Founder, Substitute
Miss. Ann has been a teacher, owner and director at Montessori Discovery Center since 1990. Before MDC, she taught at the Berensford Montessori School of Atherton and the Montessori Children’s House in Salem. Miss. Ann received her AMI Primary training at the Montessori World Institute in California. Miss. Ann helped to open MDC along with Judy Austin and Jacque Kautto in 1986 as one of Salem’s first Montessori schools. What was once a small school house, has grown into two beautiful school campus locations. Miss. Ann is our school grounds beautifier, playscape designer and substitute. After retiring in 2024, Miss. Ann has more time to enjoy traveling, gardening, camping, football, school and playground design and spending time with her family. Miss. Ann has two kids Steven and Christy and her loving, helpful husband Steve.
Miss Sigrun Oprea
Elementary Music Teacher, Orchestra Director
Sigrun Oprea is a native of South Africa, where she completed a Bachelor of Music degree in violin, viola and teaching, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in performance and chamber music from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She also received a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of South Africa specializing in Elementary teaching. She has performed in various orchestras and chamber groups in South Africa, Germany and the U.S. and has collaborated with Pavarotti, Menuhin, Zuckerman and Joshua Bell, among others. Currently she is orchestra director for Blanchet Catholic school and enjoys performing with the Salem String Quartet, Eugene Symphony and other ensembles in the area. She is also very involved with the Salem-Keizer School District music program, doing sectional and private teaching in most middle and high schools on a daily basis. Outside of musical endeavors, Sigrun enjoys spending time with her two boys and husband, skiing and traveling, and she is also an avid equestrian, competing in local dressage competitions.