Staff

Alessandra Macchiarella

AMI Toddler Lead Guide

Alessandra graduated from the University of Palermo, Italy, with a degree in Geology. Alessandra holds the AMI Assistants to Infancy (0-3) diploma and the Montessori Core Principles Certificate from the Montessori Institute of North Texas (MINT) in Dallas. Alessandra reads albums and offers support for AMI 0-3 teacher training courses for MINT, the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies (SIMS) in Arizona, and the Instituto Montessori Valencia in Spain. She moved to the United States with her family--her husband, her daughter, her son, and their dog Benji--in 2015. She enjoys knitting and crocheting, walking, playing piano, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Joined Waypoint Montessori in 2021.

Pilar Lourido

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Alessandra

Pilar attended the University of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, where she studied two years of Law. She later studied Stained Glass for two years in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Pilar has taught Spanish, facilitated art classes, and assisted in various levels of Montessori classrooms at Waypoint for 15 years. She has two daughters and a granddaughter who currently attends the toddler class at Waypoint. Pilar enjoys working with children because she gets to be part of providing a nurturing environment to fulfill the children’s needs. 

Joined Waypoint Montessori in 2007.

Columba Cunningham

AMI Toddler Lead Guide

Columba graduated from The Universidad del Centro de Mexico with a B.A. in Communications. She received her AMI Assistants to Infancy (0-3) diploma from the Training Center of British Columbia in Vancouver, and her AMI Primary (3-6) diploma from The Texas Montessori Education Center in Austin, Texas. Columba developed one of the premier all-day toddler programs in Dallas Texas. She has been working with children for 26 years as a Primary and Toddler guide. She enjoys dancing, singing, cooking, walking and traveling.

Joined Waypoint Montessori in 2015.

Michelle Bibb

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Columba

Michelle earned her (0-3) diploma from the North American Montessori Center in Surrey, British Columbia. She holds an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Development and has 22 years of experience working in Montessori Environments. Michelle also enjoys camping with her family.

Robbin Mendoza

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Columba

Robbin has a professional background in mental health, having spent over 30 years in the field. This is her 8th year at Waypoint Montessori. Robbin was also a special olympics coach for 25 years and is very passionate about animal rescue.

Elaine Jimenez

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Columba

Biography coming soon!

Claribel Rodriguez

AMI Toddler Lead Guide

Claribel has been working in a Montessori school for 9 years and obtained her AMI diploma through the Montessori Institute of North Texas under the direction of Sara Brady. She is very passionate and dedicated to the Montessori principles. Claribel and her husband have three children: Allie who is 10 years old, Thiago who is 7 years old, and Totti who is 3 years old.

Natalie Patterson

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Claribel

Natalie started her Montessori journey in Chicago where she obtained her AMS 0-3 Certificate. She returned to the local area a couple of years ago. She has been working in early childhood education for 10 years, 6 of them in a Montessori toddler-infant environment.

Alina Serbanescul

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Claribel

Alina has over 5 years of experience working with children and holds an associate's degree in early childhood education.  She is a native Spanish speaker from Puerto Rico with experience teaching Spanish to children of all ages. Alina also be conducts the Spanish classes for Elementary.

Heather Thompson

Toddler Assistant to Ms. Claribel

Prior to joining Waypoint, Heather worked with toddlers at a local Mother’s Day out program. Heather has been a professional homemaker since 2000.  Married for 25 years, she raised four children and homeschooled three since 2007. She has worked and volunteered at different homeschool co-ops throughout the years.

Shabana Hasam

Primary Assistant to Ms. Ka

Shabana holds a Bachelor's degree in commerce and has over 15 years of experience teaching in the Montessori classroom. She was born in India and then moved to New York and has lived in Dallas for the past 20 years. Shabana enjoys needle work embroidery, crochet and cooking new recipes for her family.

Kathleen Voormolen

AMI Lead Primary Guide

Kathleen Voormolen came from South Africa with her husband, with a B.Sc in food science from the University of Pretoria which she used in the food industry, developing and commercializing products. Her children attended Waypoint Montessori and their experience drew her to the school as a substitute, as she considered a career change. Captivated by what she observed, she trained as an AMI Primary Guide with MINT. She jumped at the opportunity to be the Occupations Specialist for the Adolescent Program at Waypoint and it was there that she recognized the importance of the primary years as foundation for adolescence. She proceeded on to developing a large thriving primary casa at St Francis Montessori and learned how children learn and grow in the context of a community. She was thrilled to return to Waypoint Montessori, and is currently starting a primary class, while doing the new AMI Adolescent Diploma Course to help rebuild a nurturing yet challenging program in the future for this often-misunderstood age of transition. She loves seeing the children’s wonder as they discover the beauty in this world.

Yamna Goughbar

Primary Assistant to Ms. Kathleen

Yamna is a highly experienced and dedicated childcare professional with over 25 years in the field. Her fluency in Arabic, French and English has been a valuable asset in connecting with children from various cultural backgrounds, enriching her perspective and understanding of their unique needs. Yamna grew up in Morocco and moved to Texas thirty years ago. She enjoys cooking and knitting wool.

Venkata Sowjanya Devi Dodd

Lower Elementary Assistant to Ms. Weir 

Sowjanya obtained her Master of Science in Microbiology from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, India. She has experience as a lecturer for three years at NRI Engineering college as well as teaching for two years at the high school level. Sowjanya enjoys bonding over arts and crafts with her two children. Sowjanya was born and raised in India and lives in Trophy Club, Texas.

Rosa Alvarez-Aguirre

Lower Elementary Lead Guide

Rosa obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Education from the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro in México. She also holds AMI Primary and Elementary diplomas from the Montessori Institute of North Texas (MINT). Rosa has been involved in the field of Montessori education since 1999 and has over 10 years of experience as an Elementary Guide. She has worked as course support for elementary training courses at MINT. Rosa has two daughters who attended Montessori school. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading and music.

Lyly Figueroa

Elementary Assistant to Mr. Lew

Lyly has a degree in psychology and a minor in sociology from the University of Texas Permian Basin. She is currently taking the AMI Training for 6-12. Her decade long dedication to working with children in both professional and volunteer capacities has nurtured a deep understanding of their needs. From traversing 26 countries, to living in Norway for three years as a full-time volunteer at an international school, Lyly's global experiences have enriched her perspective. Beyond the classroom, she finds joy in board games, reading, sports and travel. Her path to Waypoint came to her through her studies in child development, as well as substitute teaching in public schools where she discovered her passion as an assistant at the school, ultimately falling in love with our vibrant campus.

Havannah Govea

Almost Home Assistant

Havannah is currently in her first year of college at Tarrant County College and has an interest in teaching and child development. She enjoys art, reading and being outside.

Jennifer Galich

Librarian

Jenn has been part of the Waypoint Montessori community since 2016, first as a parent and volunteer, later as an Assistant in a Primary environment, and now as Campus Librarian. Jenn considers it a privilege and an honor to spend each day combining her love of Montessori education with her lifelong passion for reading and books! Waypoint is certainly a family affair for Jenn, as both of her sons and her niece have all attended Waypoint.