Faculty

Katherine Bowen: Head of School

Kathy, the most veteran member of the Quest staff, has seen the school grow from day one. One of the school's original founding parents and Board members, Kathy stepped down from the Board to become a Montessori guide and completed her Elementary training at the Seacoast Center in New Hampshire. Kathy joined the teaching staff in 2005 and taught in the Upper Elementary classroom until taking on the role of Assistant Head of School in 2015. As Assistant Head, Kathy led the school’s three-year self-study process which culminated in Quest gaining dual accreditation from AISNE (Association of Independent Schools of New England) and AMS (American Montessori Society). Kathy proudly became Head of School in July, 2018.

Erin Andrews: Director of Operations

Erin oversees all day-to-day administrative and clerical aspects of Quest. Along with Erin’s administrative background, she has an extensive child care background working with children of all ages. Erin holds a degree from University of Rhode Island in Political Science and Communications.

Susannah Blair: Director of Advancement

Susannah is responsible for Quest's Marketing, Communications and Development. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Education from Boston College and studied Educational Administration at Lesley University. Prior to living in South County, she spent five years teaching preschool outside of Boston and worked at Bright Horizons Family Solutions in Watertown, MA on their Sales Development team. From 2006-2016 she operated her own independent sales business for children’s apparel and gear manufacturers, working with New England retailers and is a proud Quest parent of two.

Anne Reinhardt: Director of Special Programs

Anne holds a BFA in Photography and a K-12 Visual Arts teaching certificate from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit Michigan and an MA in Art and Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Anne's career as an art educator includes experiences working with students ages 3-8 at the Roeper School in Michigan to working with middle and high school aged students at ACE Academy, a middle and high school for adjudicated young men. Anne's focus at RISD was community based art education and social justice. She studied out-of-school-time programs that provided free access to art experiences for New England youth. Anne was able to work with several arts based organizations including RISD Project Open Door, English for Action, Community Music Works and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Anne's creative practice is as much about education and community engagement as it is about making works of art.

The Teaching Faculty

Toddler Program
(Ages 18 months to 3 year olds)

Maureen Doyle: Lead Teacher, Toddler

Maureen is a certified American Montessori Society (AMS) Toddler teacher from New York Center for Montessori Teacher Training, one of the premiere and most respected Montessori Infant/Toddler training programs in the country. She comes to us with a strong background in teaching holding an Elementary Education degree from Salve Regina University and a Special Education certification from Providence College.  She worked as a substitute in the Rhode Island public school system for a decade, and most recently, at Pathways Strategic Learning Center in Coventry for five years.  At Pathways, Maureen worked with elementary and adolescent children with severe disabilities.

Raquel Pasian: Assistant, Toddler

For the past decade, Raquel has worked with adults and children of all ages teaching ESL (English as Second Language) and the martial art, Capoeira. With a deep love for the learning process, her greatest joys have been establishing connections with children and watching them reach their full potential. Amazed by Montessori methodology, Raquel also applies her classroom experiences with her 2 children at home.

Melissa Fratelli: Assistant, Toddler

Melissa has over ten years experience working with children ages two through six years old and is strongly inspired by the Montessori philosophy. Melissa studied at the Community College of Rhode Island and the University of Rhode Island and holds a degree in Liberal Arts. Enthusiastic about the Montessori method, Melissa provides encouragement, guidance and support to our Toddler classroom.

Lindsay Perini: Lead Teacher, Primary 1

Lindsay holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Human Development and Family Science from Ohio State, her Masters in Montessori Education from Loyola University and her AMI primary certification from the Montessori Institute Northwest in Portland, Oregon.

Emily Proctor: Assistant, Primary 1

Emily holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Development from University of North Florida. After spending the past 3 years working as a private chef on yachts, she has returned to her passion of education and guiding children on their quest for knowledge. Her favorite aspect of working with children is their natural curiosity and kindness, and the way they greet life with a smile!

Michelle Schuettke: Lead Teacher, Primary 2

Michelle holds an AMS Montessori Early Childhood Credential (3-6) through Center for Montessori Teacher Education/NY and a BA in Arts & Letters from Portland State University, Oregon. She studied Elementary Education at University of Portland, Oregon and holds a Rhode Island Department of Education Early Childhood Teacher Certification (preK-2nd grade). Michelle has over 15 years of Montessori experience and is passionate about Early Childhood Education and believes the experiences between ages 0-6 have a tremendous impact on a child's future learning and development. She loves traveling to new places and experiencing other cultures, as well as spending time with her husband and three children.

Caroline McCarthy: Assistant, Primary 2

Caroline studied at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI and holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Educational Studies with a focus in Montessori. She recently completed her AMI certification and loves working with children to help them learn and grow.

Ashley Hogan: Primary Enrichment Guide

Ashley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Framingham State University in Massachusetts. She has spent the past fifteen years passionately working with young children in their homes through private nannying, as well as in infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms. Ashley loves the curious, creative, and thoughtful spirit young children share and is excited to be in the process of obtaining her teaching certification through the University of Rhode Island.

Jordan Coale: Lead Teacher

Jordan comes to Quest from NH where she taught in a Lower Elementary classroom for four years. Jordan received her American Montessori Society certification from Seacoast Center in Stratham, NH. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Elementary Education and General Science from Keene State College and is currently pursuing her Masters of Education with a concentration in Montessori philosophy from Plymouth State University.

Emma Haney: Assistant

Emma is Quest's Elementary Assistant and is herself a child of Montessori. She holds Bachelors degrees in English, Writing and Rhetoric, and Theatre from the University of Rhode Island. Professionally she has worked in technical theatre throughout the state and in the non-profit world until deciding to return to her first passion, working with and encouraging young people.

Meaghan Almeida: Lead Teacher

Meaghan holds a certificate at Elementary level (ages 6-12) from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). A Montessori educated child herself, Meaghan recently completed her Masters in Elementary Montessori Education at Loyola Maryland University in Baltimore, MD.

Cressida Habib: Teacher

Cressida is a trained Lower and Upper Elementary teacher with an American Montessori Society (AMS) degree from the Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative (METTC) in Lexington, Massachusetts. Prior to joining the Quest faculty, Cressida was a Quest parent and her youngest son graduated from Quest in 2016. Cressida holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from Trinity College in Theatre Arts with a minor in Psychology and brings professional experiences as a producer and director in television and documentary film.

Auburn Cole: Humanities

Auburn holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of New Hampshire.  Auburn taught in multi-age classrooms for ten years and in recent years has been busy with her two daughters and operating an organic farm. At Quest, Auburn combines her enthusiasm for academics and the outdoors by guiding adolescents in classroom studies, experiential education and the greenhouse microbusiness.

Lacey Feeley: Science & Occupations

Lacey comes to Quest with experience teaching both Middle School and High School science and has a BS&A in Biology and Education and a Master of Social Work with a focus in Child and Adolescent Trauma. Through the URI  S.M.I.L.E Program, she developed inquiry-based curriculum for STEM afterschool programs for 4^th through 12^th grade students from over 20 schools throughout the state.  Lacey owns and runs a farm which specializes in heritage breed animals and a focus on biodynamic farming and sustainable living.  She is particularly interested in social justice as it relates to food production.  Lacey is a Kingian Nonviolence trainer, which focuses on the philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at URI.

Blue Wheeler: Mathematics

Blue joins Quest after 16 years at Rocky Hill School teaching Science and Math. Blue graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management specializing in Wetland Sciences. Blue loves working with adolescents and strives to make education both relevant and exciting and is the proud Quest parent of two.

Anne Reinhardt: Director of Special Programs & Art

Anne holds a BFA in Photography and a K-12 Visual Arts teaching certificate from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit Michigan and an MA in Art and Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Anne's career as an art educator includes experiences working with students ages 3-8 at the Roeper School in Michigan to working with middle and high school aged students at ACE Academy, a middle and high school for adjudicated young men. Anne's focus at RISD was community based art education and social justice. She studied out-of-school-time programs that provided free access to art experiences for New England youth. Anne was able to work with several arts based organizations including RISD Project Open Door, English for Action, Community Music Works and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Anne's creative practice is as much about education and community engagement as it is about making works of art.

Antonio Forte: Music

Antonio works with Quest's Elementary and Middle School programs and is the conductor of the OrQuestra and Lower Elementary Band. He studied Fine Art at SACI in Florence, Italy, and holds a BA in Music from American University, in Washington, DC, where he also studied sculpture. Antonio is on faculty at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School where he teaches music composition and piano instruction. Before coming to Quest, Antonio was assistant band director/brass specialist at Janney Elementary School in Washington, DC; and ran after-school lessons at Meeting House Montessori School in Braintree, MA. He has been a teaching artist and guest lecturer at BEAM camp, RISCA, URI Department of Art, American University Department of Performing Arts, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. His collaborative kinetic sound sculpture Lignum Sonus was featured at the 2018 DUSKLIT interactive art festival in Sugar Loaf, NY. His original compositions have been used in podcasts, documentary films, and plays, as well as programming by the Aurora Collaborative. Since 2016 he has been musician-in-residence at Jala Studio in Providence, and a member of The Wurks artists collaborative since 2015. Antonio is currently a graduate student at Vermont College of Fine Arts pursuing a Masters degree in Music Composition.

Timothy Burns: Physical Education

Timothy comes to Quest from Rocky Hill School where he was the Middle School PE and Health Teacher. Tim has a background in teaching elementary ages as well, serving as an Elementary PE Teacher in Cumberland, RI. Outside of teaching, Tim is experienced as a coach in soccer, basketball, and track and field. Tim holds a Bachelors of Science from URI in Kinesiology with a focus in Health and Physical Education, and is a credentialed K-12 PE/Health/APE Teacher in the state of RI.

Julia Gutierrez: Spanish

Julia began formally teaching Spanish 5 years ago and has a love for the Latin culture and language. She is the director of La Escuelita, a language program for children of Latino heritage designed to create an environment building confidence expressing their identity while learning to communicate. Julia uses this same method with her Quest students, encouraging them to feel comfortable asking questions, learning the culture and growing confident speaking the language. In addition to her work at Quest and La Escuelita, she also teaches adult Spanish classes and is busy with her husband and three children.

Ady Wheeler: Outdoor Education & Agriculture

Ady holds a Montessori Lower Elementary certification from the Seacoast Center in New Hampshire. She also holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from Hobart College in Women's Studies and a minor in Religious Studies. Ady brings unprecedented institutional knowledge to Quest as she was one of the school's first teachers and is also a Quest parent of two.