officers

Adela Corrales, Country Montessori School's Administrator.

In addition, she is also a Primary Teacher in the Bumblebee classroom in the mornings. She has worked for CMS since it was founded in August of 1989. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services and has her Primary Montessori Teaching Credential. Adela's two daughters attended Country Montessori School from 1995 until 2006, when they entered the local Junior High. Adela serves on the Board of Directors and is dedicated to ensuring that Country Montessori School continues to excel and adhere to being an authentic and traditional Montessori Institution.

 

Theodore Slocomb

My wife and I currently have our son age 7 and our daughter age 4 at CMS. I have a B.A. in Genetics from the University of California at Berkeley and a M.B.A. in Finance from New York University. am currently Director, Corporate Development at Amylin Pharmaceuticals. I have worked in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in strategic planning, marketing, venture capital and corporate development roles for over 17 years. I have served on the board since the 2007-2008 academic year. I previously served as CFO and now am entering my third year as President of the Board.

 

Caryl Hilliard

Caryl Hilliard is the Vice President of Human Resources for Intuit’s Consumer Tax Division (TurboTax and Quicken products). She supports the company’s second largest business as well as the San Diego site, with the goal of building a high commitment, high performance organization and creating a great place to work. Caryl holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Redlands University, and has over 20 years experience in San Diego’s HR community within the banking, insurance and high-tech industries. Her son Cole, age 6, has been at CMS for three years and is just beginning 1st level in the Eagles class.. Cole’s sister, Avery age 4, is in her second year at CMS, in the Bumblebees class. Caryl’s husband Bill is an R&D manager at Eastman Kodak’s San Diego Systems Division.

Caryl has been a member of the Board for three years and is interested in continuing to contribute her HR expertise to help CMS provide the best environment possible for students, staff and parents, while gaining diverse experience and developing new relationships outside of the corporate world.

Hussam Wakil

Sam has two children currently enrolled at CMS. The older is in fifth grade and the youngest in first. He moved to the United States from Syria as a teenager and worked his way through college majoring in mechanical engineering. Sam is currently working on a B.S in business marketing. In addition he owns and operates his flooring business. Sam loves working with children and continues to educate himself on understanding their needs to better serve them and the school on the board of directors as the executive secretary. He enjoys coaching his children's soccer teams as well as playing the game and refereeing.

He believes in that: "You always get out what you put in, plant apple seeds and you get apple trees, plant acorns and you get great oak trees, plant weeds and you will harvest weeds, plant the seeds of great ideas, and you will get great individuals!" Denis Waitley

AnneMargaret

As a Child Development Specialist since 1993, Annemargaret Beck was listed as one of the 101 Powerful Women for San Diego in 2006. In her free time, she attends Child Centered Conferences through her memberships with the American Montessori Society and the NAYEC. This school year she is eligible for renewal of her Site Supervisor Permit through the state of California and is finishing her Certificate in Fundraising through the Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Purdue.

Associated with CMS since 1992, Annemargaret proudly watched two nephews and a niece complete their primary through elementary education at CMS. Their son became a student in 2002 through 2010. Being an active parent, she volunteered as ambassador, traffic coordinator, shirt sales, chairing the 2006 and 2009 annual fundraisers, Vice President as well as President of the Parent Teacher Committee among a number of other positions at the school. In 2008 she launched the Informer Newsletter. Annemargaret chaired and obtained full sponsorship for the CMS Walkathon in 2008 & 2009. Part of her commitment to CMS also includes being dedicated sub. The children of CMS affectionately call her "Aunt Margaret". Regardless of any activity, her continual focus is to always work with the school administration to assist them with whatever they need.

During her son's final transition years, Annemargaret lead the efforts funding, negotiations and installation of the new commercial-grade playground structure and shade structures. As a parent, she was elected to the CMS Board of Trustees 2006-2010. With her son's successful transition into middle school, she is working closely with the Principal and key staff with chairing Character Counts. Annemargaret currently serves as a Community Board Member for Country Montessori School of Poway as well as an elected Board Member for the Twin Peaks Middle School Foundation.

Karin Osterberg

 

is a CMS staff member in her 10th year at the school. She holds a Montessori Early Childhood Education Credential (ages 2 ½-6).and a Radiant Child Yoga Program certificate. She is a Primary Directress in the Dragonflies classroom. She served on the Board of Directors in 2005/2006 and 2009/2010, representing the primary staff and offering a Montessori perspective on related board issues. Karin is the parent of a former CMS student.

Haibo Zhu

Haibo has two children attending Country Montessori School. His son, Patrick, is in Eagle, and his daughter, Shannon, is in Dragonfly. Haibo is currently working for IBM as a foundry application engineer. He has been working as an IC (Integrated Circuit) designer since for 16+ years. His previous employments include as a consultant and a field application engineer for Accsilicon Technology inc., as a senior staff engineer at Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, as an advisory engineer at IBM San Diego Design Center, as a senior engineer at Metaflow Technology Inc., which later became part of SGS-Thomson Microelectronics, as a member of technical staff at Vittesse Semiconductor Corporation. In addition to those, he has served as a founder and CEO of a startup company, LinkStar Microelectronics Inc. for a year. Haibo holds a MSEE degree from Purdue University and a BSEE degree from China.

Uma Venkatraman

is a Management Consultant specializing in driving Business Improvements through Strategy Planning, System Development and Implementation and Business Process Re-Engineering. Her previous work experiences include Senior Manager of Consulting Services at Ernst & Young, LLP and Director of CRM Consulting at Oracle Corporation. She has been a speaker at Oracle hosted conferences and OAUG (Oracle Application User Group conferences) and has facilitated CRM panels. She holds a Masters Degree in Economics and is a Certified Public Accountant. She has a 4 year old daughter at CMS. She has been an active PTC officer and co-chaired the 2007 school auction. Uma is dedicated to helping CMS achieve its full potential!

 

Juan Hernandez

 

Juan is a Senior Engineer in the Imaging & Printing Group at Hewlett-Packard.  He joined the company in Oregon in 1996 and relocated to San Diego in 1999. Over the last 13 years, he has worked in many engineering roles in all phases of product development across multiple sites and countries. Juan has also acquired significant experience in project management and business development that he believes to be useful for the school.  Previously, he worked for two years at MCNC (a semiconductor company in North Carolina) while he was a student.

Juan obtained a B.S. and a Ph.D. in Physics plus a M.B.A.

 

Jennifer Bennington

 

My name is Jennifer Bennington. I am a 36 year resident of Poway and I have two children attending Country Montessori School. My eldest is a 4th level student and my younger daughter is in 2nd level.

My formal education includes an undergraduate degree in psychology from UC San Diego and a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology from San Diego State University. I worked a number of years at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla conducting research in a brain waves laboratory. I also worked for Kaiser Permanente in their wellness center and weight loss program. For the last 10 years, I have been home raising my girls, though I occasionally work as an exercise and nutrition consultant.

I am passionate about CMS. I am working to guarantee that this school is a safe, supportive environment for our kids to learn, make friends, and thrive as individuals. Currently, I am in my 3rd year as the Eagles Classroom Ambassador. In addition, I am Vice President of the PTC, and a member of the Board of Directors.

Specifically, I serve on the BOD as liaison between the PTC and the BOD. These two entities are crucial to the success of this school and I believe communication and an alignment of our goals will ensure an efficient, productive year.

Thank you for your support.

 

Tammy Nickel

 

My name is Tammy Nickel. I received a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from James Madison University in Virginia and a Master's Degree in Physical Therapy from University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. I am sole proprietor of Soulscape Therapy offering an integrative approach to physical therapy, healing, and life wellness using Craniosacral Therapy, Somato-emotional release, Shiatsu, myofascial release, postural alignment, and guided meditation among other mind-body-spirit modalities.

2010-2011 is my first school year serving on the Board of Directors for Country Montessori School. Steven and I have a son who is 8 years old and in his 3rd year of the Lower Elementary Program. I greatly appreciate the CMS staff and the abundance of energy, intellect, passion, and dedication that goes into developing our children on all levels: intellectual, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual. During my three year tenure on the Board, I would like to enhance our Local and Global Community Outreach and Cosmic Education Programs. Cosmic Education, being one of the Montessori pillars of learning and development, reinforces within the child that we are all connected and that we are all one sharing the planet and its resources. My first order of business as a Board Member will be to create a partnership with an impoverished school in Honduras. Working with our Elementary Spanish teacher, we will develop a Spanish Internet Pen Pal Program between the two schools and a CMS Recycling Program to earn money to buy school supplies and necessities for the Honduran students.

I look forward to helping create more opportunities to enhance and expand our Community Outreach Programs.