KaToya has been working in early childhood education throughout her entire career and has been a part of Holy Trinity Montessori since we opened our doors in 2009. Prior to joining our staff, KaToya worked with young children in a variety of aspects, including in daycares and after-school programs in the Metro Nashville school system. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University, she completed her Montessori certification and went on to complete her Masters of Teaching at Belmont University. KaToya is a member of the American Montessori Society (AMS). In addition to her role as Lead Teacher for Primary A, KaToya also serves as our Assistant Head of School, in which she works closely with the Head of School to provide overall educational support for parents and teachers.

Kristina serves the HTM community as our Office Administrator and Admissions Coordinator. Prior to joining our team, Kristina studied Meeting and Event Planning at San Diego State University and enjoyed working in business development and office management as well as wedding planning. She wears many hats (literally and figuratively!) around our school, is a friend to staff and students alike, and is an indispensable member of our administrative team.  

Ann joined the Holy Trinity Montessori family as a Classroom Assistant in our Toddler community in 2016. Prior to coming to HTM, she spent more than twenty years working with children in a variety of educational, non-profit, and ministry programs before taking time off to raise her own daughters. Ann earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from Guilford College. 

After graduating with a degree in Elementary Education from Auburn University, Brooke taught in several traditional schools before choosing to stay at home full-time with her children for a season. While pursuing her Catechesis of the Good Shepherd certification in 2012, Brooke discovered and fell in love with the Montessori philosophy. This led her to obtain her Montessori certification from the North American Montessori Center in 2014, after which she taught in a Primary classroom for several years. Brooke also holds certification as a Positive Discipline Parent Educator. 

After discovering the Montessori method during a college visit to Xavier University, Regan knew she had found her calling as a Montessori teacher. She earned a degree in Early Childhood Education as well as a degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Xavier University, and received her Early Childhood certification from the American Montessori Society. As the former co-President and Secretary of the XU Montessori Education Club at XU, Regan will continue to encourage rising Montessori teachers by serving as a teacher peer mentor for those in student teaching placements.

After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Belmont University, Sydney spent several years working as an ordained youth minister, but soon realized she wanted to focus her efforts on younger children. She decided to work with infants in a preschool setting and then with children in public schools in a Special Education classroom. After serving children on the autism spectrum, Sydney was drawn to the Montessori approach to education, and her decision to pursue Montessori training was solidified as she observed her own preschool-aged daughter thrive within a Montessori environment. Sydney studied at Montessori Education Center of the Rockies and graduated with her Infant and Toddler certification, finishing her practicum year of Montessori training as our Toddler Community Intern before taking on the role of Lead Teacher in our Primary C Community. 

In her spare time, Sydney enjoys spending time with her family and English bulldogs, thrifting, decorating, serving in her spiritual community, and participating in social justice work.

Annette moved from Minnesota in 2023 and is enjoying her second year at HTM. She graduated from DeSales University with a BA in Theatre. She holds a Primary MACTE certification in Montessori education from CGMS and an Elementary 1 and 2 MACTE Certification from The Christian Montessori Training Center at Bethany Global University. In December, Annette will graduate with her Master's in Montessori leadership from St. Catherine University. She is an adjunct professor at Bethany Global University and a Montessori teacher trainer for CMTC. Annette has completed the IMC Building a World-Class Montessori School from the Ground Up course. She has been married to her love, Tom, for 24 years and has three children. A fun fact about Annette is that she was a professional figure skater and, at 18, toured with Disney on Ice.

Tracy has twenty years of experience teaching in the traditional classroom ranging from PreK to sixth grade. Her husband’s job transferred the family numerous times and provided the opportunity for Tracy to teach across the country. They settled in Nashville in February of 2010 and have enjoyed raising their two children in Bellevue. For the last eight years she has been teaching PreK4 at a local school and the last two years has also been the Director of Preschool. Tracy’s PreK classrooms were child centered with a mix of self-directed activities, hands on learning and collaborative play where the children were able to make creative choices in their learning as she guided the process offering age-appropriate strategies. She was most happy teaching the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to the students.

Tracy holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Xavier University and a Master of Science in Educational Computing from Buffalo State College. She earned a certificate in school management through Villanova University. Tracy completed the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program Level I. Through this, Tracy became interested in learning more about the Montessori philosophy. She is working online toward Montessori Lower Elementary I credentials and couldn’t be happier to be teaching at Holy Trinity Montessori next year. Tracy is a member of NAEYC, NAAEYC and CGS. She holds a professional teaching license for PreK-6th grade in the state of Tennessee and is permanently certified in the state of New York.

Jaime started her career in the food industry after earning undergraduate degrees in both Biology and Dietetics from Central Michigan University. After a few years, however, she discovered her true passion was working with children. When her children were students at HTM, Jaime served our community in numerous ways, helping to develop our gardening and cooking programs and providing support in other areas as well. Soon after, she received her Lower Elementary training from Northern American Montessori Center and returned to begin her teaching career in our Lower Elementary program.

Cathy Gardner has worked with children for over 30 years. She achieved her Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and received her K-8 teaching certification from Middle Tennessee State University. Since then, Cathy has taught multiple age groups from Preschool through 6th grade. Although most of her teaching experience has been in the traditional classroom, she has seen Montessori practices in action and fully believes in its philosophy of how children should be educated. After assisting in the Primary classroom at HTM in 2014, she returns as co-teacher in the Lower Elementary 2 classroom.

A Nashville native, Margaret attended Father Ryan High School before earning a degree in Elementary Education and a concentration in English and Social Studies from Mississippi State University. Margaret plans to pursue Montessori training in the near future. When not in the classroom, she loves spending time with her family, her fiance Jackson, and her dog Sophie. 

Sarah Mixon serves as Assistant Teacher in our Upper Elementary community. A Tennessee native, Sarah was a Montessori child herself – in fact, her mother started and ran a Montessori school in their rural hometown. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Emory University, Sarah moved to Nashville and began working in a Montessori environment. During this time she met her husband Bo, an Army officer, and after they married they moved frequently due to his military position. After returning to Nashville, Sarah first came to HTM as a substitute teacher and soon after joined our Upper Elementary community. 

Originally from New Orleans, Virginia graduated from Vanderbilt University with degrees in Psychology and English and loved Nashville so much she stayed! After marrying and having 2 children, she taught preschool for over 10 years at Christ Presbyterian Church. She continued a career in teaching and caregiving by working part-time in the nursery at Saint Matthew Church for over 13 years. After losing her husband to cancer, she pivoted to private elderly caregiving for 2 families in the Nashville area for the last 12 years. She is excited to return to working with children and discover the joys of Montessori teaching! She enjoys spending time with her family, friends and dog!

A Nashville native, Abbie graduated from Miami University with a degree in Finance and a minor in Gerontology. She then attended Wake Forest University School of Law, where she acted as the Editor-in-Chief of the Wake Forest Law Review. She went on to practice law at national and regional law firms in Charlotte, North Carolina, and here in Nashville, Tennessee, focusing her practice on lending and health care operational and regulatory matters. For six years, Abbie was a law professor at Belmont University College of Law. During her time there, she published multiple law review articles, including one about applying Montessori principles in the law school classroom. Here at HTM, Abbie leads our Middle School language arts, history, U.S. government, and economics studies and directs our school forensics team. 

Richard Friedman joined Holy Trinity Montessori in 2020 as our Math and Science Teacher. Originally from Queens, New York, Richard graduated from Queens College CUNY with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Science Secondary Education. After teaching in the NYC Public School System, Richard earned a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. After a career in both Basic Science and Medical Research, Richard returned to teaching and tutoring students in math and science at the middle and high school level. Richard feels that children are some of the best scientists, as their minds are curious about the world around them and want to know why things are the way they are and how things work. Richard is a fantastic guide for our students as they explore and discover more about the worlds of math and science. 

After growing up in Michigan, Amanda attended the University of Tennessee where she earned both a Bachelor of Science in Special Education with a minor in Elementary education and a Masters of Science in Special Education. Amanda comes to HTM from Metro Nashville Public schools, where she worked with students with a variety of learning differences in both teaching and consultation roles for the past 18 years. Amanda has a passion for helping all learners achieve success, and is excited to become a part of the HTM family.

In her spare time Amanda enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her husband and 2 children.

Karla serves the HTM community as our beloved Catechesis teacher, and there’s no one we’d rather have caring for the spiritual and moral development of our students. She has enjoyed an outstanding career in education, serving in both public and private schools for over 30 years, with previous roles ranging from Kindergarten Teacher to Enrichment Coordinator to High School Counselor. Karla is like a surrogate grandmother for every HTM child. In fact, you’ll probably hear our students call her “Nanny,” the term of endearment from her own grandchildren that we’ve all adopted. Karla holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Indiana University, has completed Level I certification for “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd,” and is currently working to complete Level II.