Meet your Instructors and Tutors

Teacher Trainers

Emily Bloyd

Montessori Teacher Trainer

Emily Bloyd serves as an Education Specialist for Montessori Kids Universe Teacher Institute (MKUTI). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, an AMS Early Childhood (3–6) credential, and a NAMC International Montessori Teaching Diploma (3–6). She also holds a National Director’s Credential from Aim4Excellence and is certified as a CLASS Observer.

With two decades of experience across nearly every role in early childhood education, Emily began her Montessori journey at MKU Homewood in 2017, serving as assistant teacher, lead teacher, and curriculum coordinator. It was through these experiences that she discovered her passion for Montessori education and the impact it can have on every child. She later became head of school at a Montessori preschool serving children experiencing homelessness, where she specialized in trauma-informed care and led the program to become the first five-star rated preschool in her city through Alabama’s QRIS system. Because of this work, she now specializes in helping schools navigate QRIS programs while championing Montessori accessibility. Returning to MKU at the corporate level marks a natural progression—bringing her back home to the company that first nurtured her passion for Montessori.

Greta Santana

Montessori Teacher Trainer

Greta Santana is a passionate Montessori educator, trainer, and former school leader with over a decade of experience working with educators, children, and their families around the world. She holds AMI certifications for Assistants to Infancy (birth-3) and Primary (3-6), and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. Throughout her career, Greta has served as a Montessori guide, Assistant Head of School, Head of School, educational consultant, and AMI grader. She firmly believes that supporting adults is one of the most meaningful ways to support children by building their confidence, deepening their understanding of Montessori principles, and creating environments where both children and adults can thrive.

Robin Morrissey

Montessori Teacher Trainer

Robin Morrissey serves as a Montessori Teacher Trainer for Montessori Kids Universe. She holds a Bachelor's in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University, a Colorado Elementary teaching license, and an AMS Early Childhood (3-6) credential with over two decades in education and 15+ years in Montessori education. Robin is excited to share her love for Montessori education with aspiring future teachers and, infinitely, with generations of Montessorians.

Robin began her Montessori journey by exploring different schools that fit her personal teaching philosophy and was thrilled when she found the perfect fit as a Primary Aftercare Lead Teacher at her local Montessori school. She worked in various roles, from Educational Assistant to Special Education Assistant to Elementary Lead Teacher to Interim Aftercare Director, ultimately staying in a role that allowed her to follow her passion for teaching as a Primary Lead Teacher. Later in her career, she found her joy in helping adult learners. She has trained over 10 assistants and has had four Montessori teachers-in-training under her guidance. She also found her purpose in assisting teachers and the larger community by serving on the MTSS team for over 10 years, in school leadership for 5 years, and on two separate boards for her Montessori charter schools. She has also led her school, along with the leadership team and board, through the pandemic transition while serving her department as the Interim Primary Department Lead for online learning. Robin has a passion for learners of all ages and is enthusiastic to leverage her expertise and experience as a Montessori teacher trainer.

Robin enjoys dancing ballet, singing in her choir, and singing in her car. She practices daily mindfulness, including yoga, journaling, meditation, and gratitude practices. She was born and raised in Colorado and lives near Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, with her husband (college sweetheart) and two cats, Cali and Gizmo.

Tutors

Irina Pidberejna

Irina Pidberejna is a Montessori educator and multilingual language specialist with over ten years of teaching experience across early childhood, secondary, and higher education settings. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts and Emerging Media Management, an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and an M.A. in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language. She is currently pursuing a PhD with a research focus on young bilingual learners.

Irina has taught learners from preschool through PhD programs in ESL and Russian as a Foreign Language. She served for eight years as a STARTALK Lead Instructor, where she was responsible for curriculum development, instruction, teacher training, and program coordination, teaching both high school and university students Russian at the novice through intermediate-high levels.

She has participated in international education grants including the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Ufa, Russia (2015) and the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Grant (2018). Irina holds a MACTE-accredited AMS Montessori credential for ages three to six and currently serves as a Lead Teacher at Alegria Montessori.

What To Expect From Your Instructors & Tutors

Always available

Use the Canvas messaging service to contact your MKUTI tutor. You can reach out about the materials, content, and assignments. Additionally, you can reach out with questions regarding classroom management and implementing the Montesori method. We do our best to respond as soon as possible, but please allow 2-3 business days for a response in some cases.

Always understanding

We do not have “due dates” but we want to assist you in staying on track. We provide a Self-Pacing tool for each course that can be used to plan out your 6 months of training. If you need assistance, get stuck on an assignment, or need to re-submit there is no penalty! We want you to be successful. If an adult-learner is abusing the Policies & Procedures in any way, they will be notified by their tutor to work out a solution.

Always educating

Upon submitting your assignments (which are all reflective, not research-based), you will receive full feedback and response from your tutor. These comments are important to read as this facilitates a deeper conversation or meaning to some of the assignments. We take time to get to know you and you deserve to be treated as an individual student, even as an adult. Our feedback is purposefully constructive and positive.

What Our Instructors & Tutors Expect From You

Always present

During MKUTI live sessions, that are required once-a-month during your enrollment period, you should participate! This means, your camera is on, you are in a quiet room with no distractions, and you are ready to deepen your learning for 60 minutes. These meetings are for YOU, so we tailor them to focus on current topics and challenges that we know you’re facing in the modern classroom. This is a great hour to ask questions to other teachers as well!

Always communicating

If you’re missing a material, unable to locate a manual, or need assistance with submitting an assignment, you can let your tutor know via the Canvas messaging portal. If we do not know you are having an issue, we are unable to assist you! Communicating within a training program is vital and there must be significant honesty. AI generated or plagiarised assignments are prohibited.

Always learning

Completing a self-paced, online-only course requires a bit of self-discipline and self control. We provide a road map that assists in planning your training days out and finishing your course on time. We expect that you provide ~4 hours a week, for 6 months, in order to complete this training on time.

Administrators

Dana Hernandez

Director of MKUTI

Dana Hernandez serves as an Education Specialist at Montessori Kids Universe. She holds two undergraduate degrees from Ball State University; Human Psychology and Child Development. She has been a Montessorian since 2009, having taught in Indianapolis, Virginia Beach, and Atlanta. In 2015, Dana decided to leave the classroom and take her advocacy for Montessori education to a different platform. She has served as a Head of School and as a Montessori Consultant since. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

Kimberly Clawson

Enrollment and Graduate Specialist

Kimberly Clawson is the Franchise School Growth and Development Coordinator for Montessori Kids Universe and Enrollment Specialist for the MKU Training Institute (MKUTI). She works closely with franchise owners and educators to support school growth, training initiatives, and successful enrollment strategies across the MKU network.

Kimberly holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a Master of Teaching in Special Education from the College of Charleston, and an Educational Specialist degree in Teacher Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She also holds a Tier I Educational Leadership Certificate and is a Nationally Certified Childcare Director.

With more than two decades of experience as a special education teacher and school administrator, Kimberly brings a deep understanding of educational leadership, child development, and school operations. She joined the MKU team in July 2024 and is passionate about supporting franchise owners, educators, and students as they build thriving Montessori learning communities. Kimberly lives in Northwest Georgia with her husband and daughters.