Founding Board Members
Tim Lohrentz, MUPP
Tim has been an urban planner for 12 years and currently works as a Program Manager for a national community economic development nonprofit. One of his projects is working on economic development strategies with day-labor centers, including those in Sonoma County. He has also been, for five years, the research consultant to a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides a comprehensive school intervention strategy in Chicago elementary schools. He helps them apply findings from the teacher and parent surveys, as well as analysis of standardized test scores, to improve their teacher development and parent engagement programs.
Tim has lived and worked for several years Central America and West Africa and is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Portuguese. He loves traveling with his wife, Cindy, is an avid long-distance runner, and spends many hours playing games with his son, Ben. He hopes to soon have an electric plug-in hybrid to be fueled from their rooftop solar panels.
Kelly Griffith Mannion, M.Ed. (Founding Board Member)
Kelly has been involved in Montessori education for over twenty years. Teaching credentials at the Montessori Primary and Elementary levels and a certification in administration are grounded in a Bachelor degree in Psychology and a Masters in Education. Kelly has extensive experience with teaching, training, enrichment, before and after-care programs, and administration. She has been certified in total quality management and statistical process control, positive power and influence, and myriad educational enrichment programs. With an additional background and certifications in the business world, she is uniquely suited for bridging the gaps between education and industry and currently works as a consultant to parents, teachers, schools, and companies serving our local and national Montessori and education communities.
After founding a non-profit training center, Kelly moved on to creating a family and she, and her husband of 14 years, now have two children, Aidan, 4, and Kieran, 1. While establishing a public and diversely-populated Montessori program will ultimately serve her two boys, it is the larger picture of creating options and hope for all children that is most appealing. A staunch believer in the Montessori practice of education for peace, Kelly maintains that if we provide an opportunity for all children to fulfill their individual potential, respect for self, others, and the environment will naturally follow. This respect ensures a high level of personal satisfaction and the strong sense of community and global responsibility so necessary for peace.
Danielle Oryn DO, MPH (Founding Board Member)
Danielle Oryn is Associate Medical Director of Health IT at Petaluma Health Center, a nonprofit community clinic. Since medical school Dr. Oryn has focused her energies on community health, completing residency at Christiana Care Health System - Department of Family and Community Medicine. She then went on to complete a Masters in Public Health with emphasis on community health.
Dr Oryn has been with the Petaluma Health Center since 2005. In addition to her family practice, she has led several projects focusing on leveraging technology in medicine and serves on the clinician's IT committee for the implementation of electronic medical records across the Redwood Community Health Coalition. Dr. Oryn resides in Petaluma with her partner, Jennifer, and their two children ages five and two (both in Montessori schools). In Petaluma, both Dr. Oryn and her partner are active in numerous educational activities for children and families. Her hobbies include web design, technology, and photography.
Christina Isetta-Zimmerman, BA (Founding Board Member)
Christina resides in Petaluma with her husband, John Zimmerman, and their two children: Olivia - age 7, Nathan – Age 4. She received her BA degree from University of California at Davis in Psychology with a minor in Education. During her college years, she completed a one-year internship at the California Department of Education in the Child Nutrition Division.
Christina was introduced to the Montessori Philosophy when she began to search for a pre-school for her daughter. After an extensive search, she found Redwood Montessori – a primary Montessori school located in Penngrove. Christina has been the fundraising coordinator at Redwood Montessori for the past 4 years. Without an elementary public Montessori school option, Christina and John have chosen to home school their daughter.
Christina is an active team captain and fund raiser for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life annual event. Christina currently works part time as the general manager at Isetta Landscape. She enjoys real estate investing as a hobby.
Sara Buckley Peracca, MS, MPH, Ph.D. (Founding Board Member)
The love of learning Sara gained from her Montessori experience as a young child has been a dominant force in her life, continuing to the present. She obtained advanced degrees in reproductive health, ecosystem management, sociology, and demography from the University of Michigan and today, as a concerned parent, is an advocate for the Montessori Method of teaching.
She has extensive experience working with governmental and nongovernmental organizations throughout the world. She knows the benefits of involving all stakeholders, including the community, in the process of creating viable projects. Sara has worked on teams designing research projects, conducting both qualitative and quantitative research, analyzing primary and secondary data, and making recommendations based on her findings. Her research has enriched our understanding of social behavior regarding the environment, education, work, and health.
To instill the passion of learning in her children, she enrolled both her children, Ian, 5 and Marta, 3 in Montessori preschools. She has seen them blossom, not only as they enjoy the freedom to explore their interests in projects introduced to them at school, but also as they develop the self discipline to direct themselves. Increasingly, they take responsibility for their actions, are respectful of others, and are full of wonder. The Montessori method is laying the foundation for them to aptly face the many challenges the future holds.
Founding Families
Susan and Ed Adams
Eden and Kenny Belov
Ramona and Ken English
Leslie Harrison and Kevin Lee
Betty Li and Glenn Kircher
Andrea and Tim Rattenbury
Mary Jane Salberg and Johnny Campbell
Dana and Kevin Wade
Cindy and Tim Lohrentz
Jennifer and Danielle Oryn
Christina Isetta and John Zimmerman
Kelly and Mike Mannion
Sara Peracca and Torri Estrada
Tim has been an urban planner for 12 years and currently works as a Program Manager for a national community economic development nonprofit. One of his projects is working on economic development strategies with day-labor centers, including those in Sonoma County. He has also been, for five years, the research consultant to a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides a comprehensive school intervention strategy in Chicago elementary schools. He helps them apply findings from the teacher and parent surveys, as well as analysis of standardized test scores, to improve their teacher development and parent engagement programs.
Tim has lived and worked for several years Central America and West Africa and is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Portuguese. He loves traveling with his wife, Cindy, is an avid long-distance runner, and spends many hours playing games with his son, Ben. He hopes to soon have an electric plug-in hybrid to be fueled from their rooftop solar panels.
Kelly Griffith Mannion, M.Ed. (Founding Board Member)
Kelly has been involved in Montessori education for over twenty years. Teaching credentials at the Montessori Primary and Elementary levels and a certification in administration are grounded in a Bachelor degree in Psychology and a Masters in Education. Kelly has extensive experience with teaching, training, enrichment, before and after-care programs, and administration. She has been certified in total quality management and statistical process control, positive power and influence, and myriad educational enrichment programs. With an additional background and certifications in the business world, she is uniquely suited for bridging the gaps between education and industry and currently works as a consultant to parents, teachers, schools, and companies serving our local and national Montessori and education communities.
After founding a non-profit training center, Kelly moved on to creating a family and she, and her husband of 14 years, now have two children, Aidan, 4, and Kieran, 1. While establishing a public and diversely-populated Montessori program will ultimately serve her two boys, it is the larger picture of creating options and hope for all children that is most appealing. A staunch believer in the Montessori practice of education for peace, Kelly maintains that if we provide an opportunity for all children to fulfill their individual potential, respect for self, others, and the environment will naturally follow. This respect ensures a high level of personal satisfaction and the strong sense of community and global responsibility so necessary for peace.
Danielle Oryn DO, MPH (Founding Board Member)
Danielle Oryn is Associate Medical Director of Health IT at Petaluma Health Center, a nonprofit community clinic. Since medical school Dr. Oryn has focused her energies on community health, completing residency at Christiana Care Health System - Department of Family and Community Medicine. She then went on to complete a Masters in Public Health with emphasis on community health.
Dr Oryn has been with the Petaluma Health Center since 2005. In addition to her family practice, she has led several projects focusing on leveraging technology in medicine and serves on the clinician's IT committee for the implementation of electronic medical records across the Redwood Community Health Coalition. Dr. Oryn resides in Petaluma with her partner, Jennifer, and their two children ages five and two (both in Montessori schools). In Petaluma, both Dr. Oryn and her partner are active in numerous educational activities for children and families. Her hobbies include web design, technology, and photography.
Christina Isetta-Zimmerman, BA (Founding Board Member)
Christina resides in Petaluma with her husband, John Zimmerman, and their two children: Olivia - age 7, Nathan – Age 4. She received her BA degree from University of California at Davis in Psychology with a minor in Education. During her college years, she completed a one-year internship at the California Department of Education in the Child Nutrition Division.
Christina was introduced to the Montessori Philosophy when she began to search for a pre-school for her daughter. After an extensive search, she found Redwood Montessori – a primary Montessori school located in Penngrove. Christina has been the fundraising coordinator at Redwood Montessori for the past 4 years. Without an elementary public Montessori school option, Christina and John have chosen to home school their daughter.
Christina is an active team captain and fund raiser for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life annual event. Christina currently works part time as the general manager at Isetta Landscape. She enjoys real estate investing as a hobby.
Sara Buckley Peracca, MS, MPH, Ph.D. (Founding Board Member)
The love of learning Sara gained from her Montessori experience as a young child has been a dominant force in her life, continuing to the present. She obtained advanced degrees in reproductive health, ecosystem management, sociology, and demography from the University of Michigan and today, as a concerned parent, is an advocate for the Montessori Method of teaching.
She has extensive experience working with governmental and nongovernmental organizations throughout the world. She knows the benefits of involving all stakeholders, including the community, in the process of creating viable projects. Sara has worked on teams designing research projects, conducting both qualitative and quantitative research, analyzing primary and secondary data, and making recommendations based on her findings. Her research has enriched our understanding of social behavior regarding the environment, education, work, and health.
To instill the passion of learning in her children, she enrolled both her children, Ian, 5 and Marta, 3 in Montessori preschools. She has seen them blossom, not only as they enjoy the freedom to explore their interests in projects introduced to them at school, but also as they develop the self discipline to direct themselves. Increasingly, they take responsibility for their actions, are respectful of others, and are full of wonder. The Montessori method is laying the foundation for them to aptly face the many challenges the future holds.
Founding Families
Susan and Ed Adams
Eden and Kenny Belov
Ramona and Ken English
Leslie Harrison and Kevin Lee
Betty Li and Glenn Kircher
Andrea and Tim Rattenbury
Mary Jane Salberg and Johnny Campbell
Dana and Kevin Wade
Cindy and Tim Lohrentz
Jennifer and Danielle Oryn
Christina Isetta and John Zimmerman
Kelly and Mike Mannion
Sara Peracca and Torri Estrada