Our Staff

Alder Montessori School

Lizzy Rentner

Lizzy's passion is to help each student become their best through a collaborative effort with families. She has been a teacher of toddlers and preschool age children for three years, with 2 1/2 years as a Lead Montessori teacher here in Portland. She completed her BA in California and has a Montessori Diploma for preschool age children. Lizzy is joining us in January 2024 and is excited to meet the children and their families.

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Rentner
Teacher/Montessori Guide

Anna has experience in both public, charter and private schools. She has over 18 years of experience as a Montessori guide with a Master's in early childhood education. Anna has a Primary Montessori Diploma (ages 2 1/2 - 6)

Anna Varnelius
Teacher/Montessori Guide
Bilingual (Swedish/English)

Anna attended a Montessori school during her own early childhood years. Anna has been an educator, teacher programs specialist, and school partnerships manager. She has worked in schools, museums, and nonprofits. She has a Master’s degree in Education (Curriculum, Instruction, & Teaching) with endorsements in accessible and aesthetic education. She values providing compassionate support for students with high needs and building trust with their families.

Anna Schlecht
Student Services Specialist

Claudia has been closely connected with the Alder neighborhood since she attended nearby Reynolds High School. Formerly, she worked assisting seniors, and has been with Alder Montessori since 2019. She chose this work because she loves to help people, especially the kids. She loves her work because she loves to see the students smile when she helps them out.

Claudia Lopez-Trejo
Primary Classroom Assistant
Bilingual (Spanish/ English)

Yaneth is a graduate of Reynolds High School, and has worked as a nursing assistant prior to joining AEME in 2022. Yaneth describes herself as friendly and education enthusiastic. She enjoys supporting the classroom and the children.

Yaneth Lopez Trejo
Primary Classroom Assistant
Bilingual (Spanish/ English)

What started as a part-time volunteer position with an early childhood parent group associated with Alder Montessori's early years soon became a full-time role in the classroom. Rosa is Montessori-trained as a classroom assistant and a key community liaison and translator.

Rosa Sierra Ortiz
Primary Classroom Assistant
Bilingual (Spanish/ English)

Itzia attended Alder Elementary School as a child. She has been interested in early childhood education since high school and decided she wanted to become a teacher for young children. She was excited to learn about Alder Montessori and joined our team in 2020.

Itzia Martinez Venegas
Floating Classroom Assistant
Bilingual (English/ Spanish)

Lupita is a Reynolds High School graduate, and loves listening to music and painting. She is the newest member of the team joining us in 2023.

Lupita Arias
Floating Classroom Assistant
Bilingual (English/ Spanish)

Jill Silk
Jill joins us with 15 years of professional experience as an educator & service coordinator. Jill is multilingual and multicultural, and spent many years as an educator in Mexico and China. Locally she has 7 years of experience working with youth and children, at Janus Youth, Girls Inc., and A+K Ingenuity. As a passionate educator and advocate for youth, Jill is excited to engage with our parents and support our classrooms and staff.

Jill Silk
Bilingual Preschool Program Coordinator
Multilingual (English, Spanish, Mandarin)

Liora has over 20 years of leadership experience designing, managing and advocating for quality, innovative, and equitable services and supports for low-income individuals and families in our Portland-Metro community. Liora has a Masters in Public Administration from PSU, and is a strong advocate of providing free and low-cost Montessori education in collaboration with our local public schools and community partners.

Liora Berry
Executive Director

Sandip has 14+ years of experience as an early childhood educator and administrator and has been involved in opening new Montessori classrooms in India, Australia, and England- and mentoring new Montessori teachers. She has her BA in Children’s Learning and Development and earned her Montessori diploma in London, where she was born and raised. Sandip loves connecting with parents and taking care of very young children.

Sandip Brar
School Manager
Multlingual (Panjabi, English, Hindi)

Angela recently retired from a 26-year career at Intel Corporation where she managed internal communications and people programs to enable individuals and organizations to thrive and grow. She is currently supporting AEME as an Intel Encore Fellow, a year long volunteer position to support AEME operations and future expansion. In her free time Angela is a book artist and botanical illustrator.

Angela Rivera
Encore Fellow Volunteer
Bilingual (Spanish/ English)