The Leadership Team
Head of School
Michael Barclay
Mike brings 20 years of administrative and teaching experience to his role as Head of School. Prior to this, Mike was Quest’s Assistant Head of School for three years. Before Quest, Mike spent six years as the Dean of Students at Moses Brown School in Providence, and prior to Moses Brown, he was part of the founding faculty at Stuart Hall High School, Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco for five years, where he was the school’s first admissions director overseeing the school’s growth from a first class of 44 students to a fully enrolled student body. He has also worked at New York University as an Associate Admissions Counselor, taught English at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD, and worked at Georgetown Preparatory in Bethesda, Maryland. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from American University in Washington, DC and holds a BA in English and Communications from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.
Assistant Head of School
Katherine Bowen
Kathy, the most veteran member of the Quest staff, has seen the school grow from day one. She is a founding parent and former Board Member of Quest. She joined the teaching staff in 2005. Kathy completed her Montessori Upper Elementary training at the Seacoast Center in New Hampshire. She has a B.S. in Industrial Psychology from Clarkson University. Kathy oversees the Quest curriculum along with faculty professional development. Over the next three years, Kathy will also be guiding Quest through an extensive duel accreditation process with AISNE (Association of Independent Schools of New England) and AMS (American Montessori Society).
Business Manager
Jamie Martin
Jamie brings over 25 years of financial services experience to Quest from positions held at First Data Corp, PFPC and Boston Financial Data. Along with being the Quest Business Manager, Jamie is in charge of all tuition management and is an instructor in the Quest After School Program.
Development Director
Susannah Blair
Susannah serves as Quest’s Development Director, a current Quest parent of two and an intermittent substitute in our Toddler classroom. 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 and worked at Bright Horizons Family Solutions in Watertown, MA on their Sales Development team. Since 2006 she has operated her own independent sales business for children’s apparel and gear maufacturers, working with New England retailers.
Office Manager
Erin Andrews
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.
The Teaching Faculty
Toddler Program
(Ages 18 months to 3 year olds)
Maureen Doyle
Maureen, our Lead Toddler Teacher, is a certified American Montessori Society (AMS) Toddler teacher. She received her training at the 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. Maureen has 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.
Rachel Marshall
Rachel is the Toddler Associate Teacher working closely with Maureen in all aspects of the toddler classroom. Rachel holds a degree from Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire in Early Childhood Education with a minor in health. Rachel brings an international background to Quest as she was formerly the Lead Kindergarten Teacher at Life School in Panajachel, Guatemala.
Early Childhood Program/Primary
(Ages 3 to 6 year olds including Kindergarten)
Sherry Emrich
Sherry is the Director of our Early Childhood Program and is also a Lead Primary Teacher. She comes to us from Virginia via Connecticut where she worked as a Primary Directress in one of the oldest Montessori schools in the country. She holds an Association Montessori Internationale Primary Diploma (AMI) from Washington Montessori Institute at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland; a Rhode Island Department of Education Early Childhood Teacher (Pre-K through Second Grade) Certificate; and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Master of Education degree from Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA.
Breanna Rea
Breanna is the assistant in the Primary 2 classroom. She is in the process of completing her Montessori Primary Assistant certification. Breanna comes to us with a culinary degree from Johnson and Whales University. Aside from her culinary background, Breanna has experience in business and administration. In addition to her role at Quest, Breanna works as a studio manager for a photography business.
Cassandra Bravetti
Cassandra is the Lead Teacher in the Primary 1 classroom. Cassandra comes to us from Adams Montessori School in Quincy, Massachusetts where she was the lead Primary teacher. Cassandra holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education and French from Rhode Island College, her Masters in Montessori Education from Loyola University and her AMI primary certification from the Montessori Institute Northwest in Portland, Oregon.
Tiana Litvin
Tiana is the assistant in the Primary 1 classroom. Tiana has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Art from the University of Hawaii. She has taught as a certified teacher assistant and substitute teacher at various schools in the area, including Quest, in both Primary 1 and Toddler classrooms. She is active in the South County arts community and is the chairperson for Art Night at her children’s school.
Lower Elementary Program
(Ages 6 to 9 year olds in Grades 1st through 3rd)
Jordan Vaillancourt
Jordan is our Lead Lower Elementary teacher. She comes to Quest from Mill Falls Charter School in Manchester, 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.
Cressida Habib
Cressida is a trained Lower 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.
Ady Wheeler
Ady is the Director of the Quest Outdoor Education Program and supports the science studies in the elementary classrooms. She 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’s outdoor education responsibilities include overseeing the care and student education associated with the Quest chickens to building the future Quest Greenhouse. Ady brings unprecedented institutional knowledge to Quest as she was one of the school’s first teachers.
Suzan Dunleavy
Suzan is Quest’s new Lower Elementary Assistant. She has had a long prior career in nursing, graduating from the University of Rhode Island with her BSN. Her passion for children and education has inspired her second career. Suzan brings with her, experiences from all avenues of nursing, from surgical care to Hospice care. Giving back to the community has always been a priority for Suzan and Quest is a welcome transition.
Upper Elementary Program
(Ages 9 to 12 year olds in Grades 4th through 6th)
Meaghan Wheeler
Meaghan, the Lead Upper Elementary Teacher, 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.
Holly Flood
Holly is a skilled elementary and primary trained Montessori teacher with an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) degree from the Ohio Montessori Training Institute, as well as an AMI elementary degree from the Montessori Institute of Atlanta. Along with Holly’s Montessori degree, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from John Hopkins in Natural Sciences and a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Caitlyn Wass
Caitlyn is the Upper Elementary Assistant who is currently completing her AMI Elementary Assistant certification. She comes to Quest from the University of Rhode Island where she received a Bachelors of Science with a degree in Finance in 2010. Caitlyn later went back to earn another Bachelors in Human Sciences and Services with a degree in Elementary Education.
Middle School Program
(Ages 12 to 15 year olds in Grades 7th and 8th)
Cristin Cali
Cristin is our Lead Middle School Teacher. She recently completed her AMI certification in Adolescent Studies and continues to pursue professional development through NAMTA and AMI. Cristin came to Quest from the YMCA of the greater Providence where she was the Site Coordinator, responsible for training staff and developing state-standard curriculum. For three years prior, Cristin was an AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellow for Citizen Schools. She taught seventh grade students who exceeded program goals of maintaining or improving their grades under her guidance. Cristin has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she double-majored in English and Music and minored in Business.
Ian Shippee
Ian comes to Quest from The Learning Clinic in Brooklyn, CT. Ian holds a Bachelors degree in elementary education from the University of Maine. He has taught science and math to all levels of elementary and middle School students. Along with Ian’s classroom experiences, he also worked at the University of Rhode Island W. Alton Jones Campus as a Field Teacher and Naturalist. Ian credits this experience for exposing him to the Montessori philosophy. He said, “Montessori kids were always the most interesting and best students to work with at Alton Jones.” Ian is a licensed pilot and lover of all things mechanical who brings a true Renaissance perspective to his new position at Quest.
The Interdisciplinary Team
Fine Arts
Anne Reinhardt
Anne is our Director of Special Programs and Art Teacher. She 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.
Music
Antonio Forte
Antonio is Quest’s Music Instructor. Antonio is a skilled musician with a degree from American University in Music with a minor in Studio Art. Antonio comes to Quest with past Montessori experiences as he previously taught in a Montessori environment at Meeting House Montessori School in Braintree, MA.
Spanish
Lorena Henderson
Lorena is a native of Chile were she originally studied to be a music teacher. Lorena has a degree in Spanish from University of Rhode Island and comes to Quest from a long-term substitute position at Moses Brown.
Physical Education/Health and Wellness
Patrick McSally
Patrick is our Health and Wellness instructor. Along with teaching Health and Wellness, Patrick is also our After School Assistant. Patrick came to Quest from the Urban Collaborative School in Providence where he taught Physical Education. Patrick has a Bachelor of Science from URI in Kinesiology and Political Science.