The Board of Directors
Mountain City Public Montessori is a nonprofit public charter school overseen by a Board of Directors. Current board members are listed here, and members serve three-year terms.
Board meetings are open to the public, and each meeting has a public comment period on the agenda. To attend a meeting or submit a public comment, please email board@mountaincitypublic.org. Our meetings are typically on the first Wednesdays of the month at 5:30pm, please click the "Board Meeting Minutes and Information" button for an up-to-date schedule.
Mountain City Public Montessori is inviting members of our community to apply for open seats on our Board of Directors. The application will be open until Friday, April 24th at 5pm. We are especially hoping to welcome individuals with experience in development and fundraising, finance, and school leadership/ administration. We are committed to building a board that reflects the diversity of our community across age, race, and lived experience, and we warmly encourage people from all backgrounds to explore this opportunity to serve and lead together.
Wren Cook, Chair
I am a mother of two children who have had extraordinary opportunities to be in Montessori classrooms since kindergarten. I witnessed firsthand the transformative impact that Montessori education had on my own children, and, as a former educator, I wanted more children to have the same experience. I have learned that Montessori is more than just a curriculum–it’s a way of being that bolsters confidence, curiosity, and respect for the diversity of humankind and our planet. My dream is for every child to feel a sense of belonging and believe enough in themselves to find their place in the world. Equitable, accessible Montessori education can do just that, and I have the great honor of working with an amazing, dedicated group of people to build, cultivate, and grow Mountain City Public Montessori. I have ten years of experience as an elementary educator and have worked and volunteered in various schools and organizations for the past thirteen years. I am the happiest when I am floating and swimming in rivers, hiking, cooking, and spending time with friends. I share a life with my husband Jason and our two children, Noah and Eliza, and a dog named Daisy.
Dawn Mendonca Meskil, Vice Chair
As a lifelong educator, I first encountered Maria Montessori’s educational approach while in college and her work has resonated with me throughout my career. I was immediately drawn to her focus on balancing collective responsibility and individualized education with a non-neogoitable universal design for all children. Montessori education done right is effective public education. I am in awe of the passion and commitment the founders of Mountain City Public Montessori poured into creating this school and I am grateful for the opportunity to help guide and expand that original vision.
I have called Western North Carolina home for nearly three decades, beginning my career in public education and the early childhood field in Asheville. I live in Marshall with my family and our crew of pets. My current hobbies include short morning hikes with our dogs, long walks with audiobooks, home improvement projects, logging driving hours with my teenager, and spending time with family and friends.
Erica Engelsman Rawls, Secretary
I am a social worker and a parent to two awesome kids who have participated in Montessori education since they were toddlers. As a parent concerned with providing the best possible opportunities and experiences for my children, I knew I had to curate an educational environment that would allow them to explore and flourish as children in the process of growing into their unique and wonderful selves. My spouse and I quickly discovered that Montessori schools provided the structure and freedom ideal for nurturing our children's curious and creative development. The magic of Montessori spoke to our past and present work as social workers and teachers for high-needs populations, and we want to expand access to this type of learning environment to as many kids as possible. I believe that if given a chance to explore, children will show you their inner potential by what their joy pulls them toward, and that my own kids succeed in Montessori classrooms in ways that more traditional learning environments could never enable them to. On the Mountain City Public Montessori board, I am pleased to provide decades of experience as a social worker, specializing in the needs of brain injury survivors and autistic children and adults, and the organizational and leadership skills honed as the day program director for Hinds’ Feet Farm. In my downtime, I enjoy reading, spending time in nature, and relaxing in the company of my spouse Brent, our children Lucian and Robin, and our pets.
Kelly Garmon, Treasurer
Originally from North Georgia, I still feel newer to the Asheville area, but I believe working with MCPM is one of the best ways I can contribute to the community. I had moved to Asheville shortly before Hurricane Helene and saw how much the community came together during that time. I believe the school’s community-focused mission is crucial to keeping that spirit of Asheville alive for generations to come. Through my family, I’ve seen this school grow from a concept to a place where children are learning much more than academic curriculum, and I’m grateful I can contribute to its success in some way. I work as a Financial Controller for my career, and I’ve served on the school’s Finance Committee since moving here. Working alongside the school’s strong leadership, I feel confident we can achieve any current and future goals of the school. Outside of working in spreadsheets, you can find me enjoying WNC with my partner and our cat and dogs.
Aaron Brumo
I spent most of my childhood playing in the woods and streams of the Western North Carolina mountains and the rest making objects in my father’s woodworking shop. After moving away for 18 years to study architecture and work in Raleigh and the San Francisco Bay area, my partner and I yearned to start a family and set down roots. In 2013, we moved to Asheville where our two children were born. I knew little about Montessori when my children started the local public Montessori school, but I began to observe something remarkable; my children quickly developed an intense love of learning that was foreign to my conventional public-school experience. Not only did Montessori seem to fit my children’s learning styles, but I also noticed that it worked amazingly well for many different types of learners. Everyone simply seemed to belong. After the closing of this school, I worked with a group of passionate and dedicated parents and community members to continue to provide equitable access to Montessori education. I deeply believe in public school education where children learn side by side with peers who have had life experiences different from their own. When I am not designing schools at my day job, you can find me tinkering in my basement shop, coaching baseball, or hiking or biking through the same mountains where I grew up.
Stella Clarke Plato
Each year, I set a reading goal for the year. Those goals have evolved a lot over time (especially after becoming a mom), but one thing has remained unchanged: I love to read! Looking back, I credit this lifelong love of reading to my time at Spruce Pine Montessori School, which I attended from preschool through sixth grade. Reading–and learning in general–never felt like work; it was fun, engaging, and playful. That Montessori spirit stayed with me when I attended the local public school for grades 7-12, then on into college, and even my professional career, which I’ve focused on development in education. Now, with two children of my own, I’m honored to be able to share and strengthen the Montessori spirit in Asheville alongside the amazing community of Mountain City Public Montessori.
Saravanakumar “Sav” Sankaran
Sav is a first-generation American, a passionate hunter and angler, and a nationally acclaimed bluegrass musician currently touring with Unspoken Tradition. He spent more than a decade as an associate at The Orvis Company, and as Orvis’s Inclusion and Engagement Business Partner helped to lead the DEI and engagement efforts at the 160+ year old legacy brand- helping the company to make the outdoors and the outdoor industry more inclusive. He is a founding member of Orvis’s Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion committee, and a board member of Minority Outdoor Alliance. Sav is a proud Penn State Nittany Lion and also holds a Diversity & Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. A product of a Montessori early education that engendered a lifelong love of learning, he believes in the transformative power of inclusive, equitable learning spaces like MCPM, and is honored to be a part of the Mountain City Public Montessori family. Sav lives on a small homestead in Fairview with his wife Amber, daughter Uma, and a Llewellin Setter named Chai.
Tameka King
I am a mom of 5 (1 adult, 2 teens, and 2 preschoolers). They keep me busy and inspire me to want to continue to be the voice for educators and children, and families alike. I have worked in the ECE industry for over 15 years. I am and will forever be a TEACHER at heart. My philosophy has always been built to prioritize our teachers to ensure that our children are provided quality learning experiences.
With many changes happening in our society, it is important to me that our teachers are well equipped to handle the many challenges in early care and education, that they understand the whole child, and what each child needs to thrive educationally, socially, and emotionally. This speaks to the practices of the Montessori method, and I am excited to bring my knowledge to this unique educational program.
My goal is to support the continued growth and success of MCPM, the children, staff, and families of today and the future.
“I am who I say I am. I will do what I say I will do. I will be who our experience makes me.”
Molly Cantrell
Molly is passionate about community, education, and the natural world. A Southern Oklahoma native and proud member of the Choctaw Nation, she grew up surrounded by animals and the outdoors, which shaped her deep love for conservation and environmental stewardship. She also attended Montessori as a child, where she developed an early appreciation for curiosity-driven learning and student-centered education.
Molly believes in creating inclusive spaces where all children feel seen, valued, and empowered to learn in ways that spark their curiosity. As an artist and performer, she understands the power of storytelling and creativity in education and loves finding ways to make learning more engaging and accessible. She is passionate about fostering equity in education and outdoor spaces, ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities for growth, exploration, and self-discovery.
Beyond her role at Mountain City Public Montessori, she serves on the board of Building Bridges of Asheville, is a StreamKeeper for Asheville GreenWorks, and actively advocates for conservation and environmental justice. She also enjoys gardening and sees it as both a grounding practice and a way to connect with nature and community. When she’s not working on community projects or advocating for the environment, Molly enjoys backpacking with her dogs, exploring new creative outlets, and getting lost in a good book.
Krista Odom
I am a mother of one as well as a public health research scientist and professional with extensive experience leading international and domestic programs focused on gender-based violence and mental health program implementation. I first discovered the Montessori Method as a university student researcher, and I was immediately drawn to its alignment with my personal philosophies. Throughout my career and personal life, I have embraced the core principles of whole-person development and deep community focus to foster environments where people can thrive. After living and working across Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, I feel incredibly lucky to now call Buncombe County home. I am filled with gratitude to support Mountain City Public Montessori, where I can apply my professional expertise in equity, policy development, grant writing, and social inclusion to strengthen our school community. In my free time, I enjoy immersing myself in the natural beauty of Western North Carolina as an avid hiker and gardener. You can also frequently find me in a book at a local coffee shop, finding balance in yoga, or chasing my daughter around a park.
Kalyan Volpe
I am a dedicated father of three wonderful boys Janaka 24, Taraka 20, and Narayan 16 and the lucky husband to my wonderful wife Shanti. They are my base and we live with 3.14 dogs in the woods of Weaverville. After travelling around and living in the world for 12 years including stints as a pizza store owner in Wales, an EFL teacher in Japan, and an apprentice monk in Nicaragua, I settled on teaching as my profession. My masters degree was a study of holistic education and that is where I encountered the works of Maria Montessori. I was drawn to her belief that love is the primary modality of teaching as a spiritual endeavor. The title of my masters thesis is The Thirst for Limitlessness and it is that spirit that I taught middle school for 25 years and helped found Odyssey Community School.
My favorite educational quote is paraphrased from Johann Pestalozzi’s address to his students as they entered his school circa 1820. He told them “You are not here to become the person your parents want you to be. Nor are you here to become the person this school or its teachers want you to be. Nor are you here to become the person the society wants you to be. You are here to become that which the divine within you demands that you be” For me this is what educating through love means. Provide a space, experiences, and ideas that allow children to unfold into the exquisite beings that they already are.
Beyond teaching I am a dedicated yogi, anti-racst, death doula and lover of the natural world. I work in my family's building business as the operations manager. I love hiking, swimming, ultimate frisbee, reading and playing games.