Leadership

Philip Snow Gang holds a PhD in Educational Philosophy from the Union Institute and University as well as an undergraduate degree from Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Gang is the author of Educating for Right-Action and Love: Extending and Expanding the Montessori Vision, Rethinking Education and Conscious Education: The Bridge To Freedom.He is the developer of Our Planet, Our Home, a hands-on mobile map material for exploring relationships on Earth. He also appears in Russell DeCarlo’s anthology, Towards a New World View: Conversations at the Leading Edge.

Watch Phil’s film To Educate Eco-sapiens

Philip has been a Montessori school head, consultant and educator of teachers. In 1978 he helped initiate the National Erdkinder Consortium – a group dedicated to founding Montessori secondary schools. He was the organizer of two International Montessori Study Conferences: one titled, Adolescence and Exploration (1981) and the other Education and Peace (1985). He had close ties with Mario Montessori Sr. and Mario Jr, who served on his doctoral committee.

In 1990 he became Executive Director for the Global Alliance for Transforming Education (GATE), a world-wide effort to define and promote holistic education.

In the early ’90s Gang was a faculty member at the California Institute of Integral Studies as a professor-mentor to students engaged in doctoral studies in the School of Transformative Learning. This was the first collaborative on-line program of its kind.

Reflecting on the issues of the 21st century, Gang’s major interest now is exploring the question: What contexts and processes in education might liberate teachers and learners so that they become catalysts for a new human— one whose integral relationship with Gaia is bound by right-action and love? His response to this was the 2016 documentary, To Educate Eco-Sapiens.

Phil also enjoys working with wood.

www.philipsnowgang.net

John Fowler received his PhD in Transformative Learning from the California Institute for Integral Studies. He has enjoyed being a Montessori elementary director, administrator, and coach for 37 years. He is the creator of the Timeline of Light, depicting the emergent universe and our pre-Cambrian planet, and has been a Montessori consultant for AMI, AMS, and the Boulder Valley School District. A presenter at international and national Montessori, holistic, Big History and environmental conferences, his articles have appeared in Montessori, environmental and Big History publications, and he has been listed in Who’s Who in American Education. After almost twenty years on the TIES faculty, he says that he “loves the deep, rich, and unique dialogic approach that it embodies.”

John lives in Evergreen, Colorado, 7400 feet above the ocean, with his wonderful wife Linda, and their two canine kids, Cosmo and Stardust, whom he loves to walk.

Kathryn Ross received the Endicott-TIES MEd. In Montessori Integrative Learning. She has been involved in Montessori education since receiving AMI training at the 3-6 level and infant-toddler level in Mexico City from 1972-1974. She and her late husband co-founded and co-lead Mt. Sopris Montessori School in Carbondale, Colorado in 1982. In 2015, she retired as an instructor at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies (MECR), where she had lectured since the 1980s. She retired from Head of School at Children’s Garden Montessori School in Denver, CO in 2014. Kathryn was a founding member of the Colorado Montessori Association and served as president for four years.

Kathryn moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2015 when her granddaughter was born, and continues to live there to be near family. Largely because of the influence of TIES and authors read as part of the TIES program, she has prioritized deepening her connections within her local community by participating on various boards, supporting non-profit community organizations, and learning what she can about plants native to Oklahoma.

She is a TIES graduate, and in 2009, she received the AMS Best Master’s thesis award for her Endicott-TIES Med in Montessori Integrative Learning: Montessori and Reggio Together: Exploring Possibilities.

In her spare time, Kathryn sings, plays the guitar, practices tai-chi, knits, reads, gardens, and takes long walks.

Steven was always excited about being a teacher and went to University and then to teacher training college in New Zealand where he discovered Montessori Education.  His MEd is from Endicott College. Steven trained as an Elementary teacher in Bergamo, Italy  (AMI 6 – 12).  In 2002 he established New Zealand’s first Montessori secondary school “Athena Montessori College”. His studies took him to Texas to receive his secondary credentials 12 to 15 and 15 to 18 (AMS), and completed TIES MEd. He migrated to Brisbane Australia and completed the 3 – 6 AMI qualification and later returned to New Zealand as a university lecture.  At the university level Steven trains teachers to teach Montessori education. Most recently he attended the 0 to 3 introductory certificate (AMI) and received a Post Graduate Diploma in Education. Steven has started another secondary school (11 – 18 years) in Auckland, New Zealand called “Peace Experiment”.  He has recently set up his own teacher training establishment called “Peace Development” to support the growth of Montessori Teachers.  He joined the TIES faculty because he is passionate about Montessori and peace through education.

In his spare time Steven enjoys time with his family, travel, theatre and drama teaching.

Linda Engelhart was first drawn to the Montessori method because the emphasis on following the child provided the wholesome approach to education that she was seeking. She completed both the AMI Primary and AMI Elementary teacher’s trainings, the latter in Bergamo, Italy. It was there that she met her wonderful husband, John.

Over the years in Montessori, Linda has taught in primary, elementary, and middle school programs, also serving as head of a middle school. Linda coached elementary teachers in a public Montessori school while also teaching science with a cosmic education approach. The enthusiasm and wonder of discovery in the children’s eyes inspired her daily. She presented at both AMI and AMS international and national conferences and has served as a consultant. The TIES “Montessori for Adults” program provided Linda the opportunity to pursue a MEd with an emphasis on “The Child and Nature,” an area of great interest to her. The process was transformative and had a profound impact on her work with Montessori teachers, children, and parents.

Now semi-retired, Linda enjoys spending time with her family, hiking in the pine forests of Colorado with her dogs, cycling and cross country skiing the trails, and serving on the board of the Evergreen Nature Center.

Paul Freedman embodies holistic education in a way that few do. He holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership for Change from Fielding Graduate University, as well as two master’s degrees in education. His teaching career includes 28 years in the elementary classroom. He is the founder and head administrator of the Salmonberry School on Orcas Island, Washington. He serves as Senior Editor of the Holistic Education Review.

Paul is widely published in the field of Holistic Education and is a frequent and esteemed conference presenter. His first published edited volume is entitled Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Authors Going Deeper with Holistic Education.

His TEDx Talk is on “Deep Education”.

His areas of interest and scholarship include holistic leadership (the subject of his dissertation), nature-based learning, feminist approaches to education, critical pedagogy, indigenous education, educational philosophy, and a wide range of alternative pedagogies.

Paul defines his own approach to teaching as deeply relational and heart-centered. As a mentor at TIES, Paul challenges and inspires students towards ever-deeper understanding while he listens generatively and holds students in a caring embrace.

Originally from New York City, Paul lives with his wife, Andria, and their menagerie of pets and farm animals. They have two adult children who continue to inspire and surprise them with their love, joy, and wisdom.

Tammy Oesting received her MEd from The Institute for Educational Studies (TIES) Montessori Integrative Learning program and has been involved in Montessori education for more than 30 years, holding AMS credentials at both the Early Childhood and Elementary levels.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Tammy spent nine years traveling the world as a nomad, supporting Montessori communities internationally before settling in New Mexico. She currently serves educators globally as a coach, speaker, and Montessori teacher educator. Tammy hosts TIES’ short course on Syntropy and cultivates content creators for Trillium Montessori.

Tammy is a founding member of Montessori Everywhere and received the 2021 AMS Community Service Award for her contributions to the field. She is widely published and serves on the board of the Montessori Network of New Mexico. Her professional passions include social justice in education, supporting and educating support staff, applying neuroscience to educational practices, and exploring the magnificence of the universe.

She self-identifies as a practitioner of awe and wonder. In her spare time, Tammy enjoys traveling, live music, painting, hiking, and reading.

Tammy’s Substack

https://tammyoesting.com/

As Executive Director of TIES, Warren leads with the conviction that education is about transformative experience, meaning, and connection. Drawing from decades of global experience across music, wellness, and nonprofit innovation, he brings a distinctive perspective informed by the hero’s journey and the role of story in shaping both individual and communal identity.

Warren’s leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that each learner is the author and protagonist of their own journey. At TIES, this translates into educational initiatives that honor diverse traditions while inviting participants to reflect on their own stories and recognize the threads weaving through humanity’s shared experience.

Warren’s background encompasses music manufacturing, concert production and promotion, physiological research, kombucha master-crafting, healing foods entrepreneurship, and community wellness advocacy. This diverse experience demonstrates how story and myth can bridge disciplines, generations, and cultures in ways purely technical approaches cannot.

The Culminating Project from his TIES M.Ed., The Hero’s Journey: Transformative Self-Reflection Explored through the Lens of Integrative Learning, explores a fully human life lived with courage, humility, and love—weaving personal healing into a broader vision of communal and planetary flourishing.

With his chef-partner, Sharon, he has helped rebirth their family healing foods (ad)venture, Earthwise Gourmet. On weekends, he can be found making friends at various Portland Farmers Markets.

Sharon Moliken, MSW, NTP, HFC,  brings a unique blend of social work, holistic nutrition, and educational leadership to her role as Director of Operations at TIES. She holds a Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in children and families and began her career as a school social worker in inner-city Baltimore and rural Vermont, supporting students and families navigating complex systems. Her commitment to service extended to volunteer coordination with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Project Open Hand, where she witnessed the profound connection between nourishing food and healing, providing meals and pantry items to people living with AIDS.

After the birth of her first daughter, Sharon’s path turned toward the transformative power of food. Inspired by pioneers like Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and Sally Fallon, she trained as a Certified Natural Foods Chef at Bauman College in Berkeley. In 2007, she moved to New Zealand, where she founded Earthwise Gourmet, a healing foods business dedicated to helping individuals and families explore their food stories and live in deeper harmony with themselves and the planet. After returning to the United States, her passion for healing foods deepened as she became a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. She restarted Earthwise Gourmet in Portland, where she delights in connecting with her community at local farmers markets. At TIES, Sharon channels her lifelong passion for holistic wellbeing into creating pathways for adult learners pursuing transformative education. Whether guiding students through their educational journey or helping families transform their relationship with food, Sharon’s work centers on the same principle: providing the nourishment—intellectual, emotional, and physical—that allows people to flourish.

Sharon’s newest project is Earthwise Holistic Nutrition, a food-as-medicine wellness coaching practice.

John Briggs, PhD, is a writer, educator, and scholar whose work explores the deep connections between creativity, science, and art. Holding a doctorate in aesthetics and psychology from the Union Institute and University, Dr. Briggs has spent his career investigating how patterns in nature reflect the creative processes that shape human imagination and understanding.

An emeritus Distinguished Professor at Western Connecticut State University, he has taught literature, creative writing, and interdisciplinary studies, inspiring students to see the world as a dynamic interplay of order and chaos. His acclaimed books—Fire in the Crucible (St. Martin’s Press), Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos and Looking Glass Universe (Simon & Schuster), Turbulent Mirror and Seven Life Lessons of Chaos (HarperCollins)—invite readers to explore creativity as a living principle woven throughout the universe.

Dr. Briggs’s essays, fiction, and photography have appeared in numerous publications, and his collaborations with physicist F. David Peat have helped popularize the science of complexity for general audiences. As a visiting faculty member with TIES, he continues to engage learners in discovering the creative patterns that connect inner inquiry with the evolving patterns of life itself.

The Shaman Memorandum, John’s Substack

Lauren de Boer is an author, poet, and composer whose work explores the relationship between landscape and the human imagination. He served as executive editor of EarthLight Magazine for over a decade, helping to foster new dialogues between science, philosophy, and spirituality. His writing—including essays, interviews, and poetry—has been published in a wide range of books and journals, with recent work featured in his latest book, Sacred Earth Rising Within (2025).

With experience as a visiting professor in integrative and eco-cosmology studies, de Boer brings a thoughtful and creative perspective to both his teaching and his art. He lives in northern California, where he continues to write, compose, and inspire through his commitment to reflective inquiry and creative expression

Tamara discovered Montessori education when she was told her daughter was “failing” traditional preschool. When she saw her daughter thriving in a Montessori environment, Tamara’s interest grew and soon she found herself working as the Parent Liaison at Montessori Centres in Indianapolis, IN. From there, she discovered the TIES program and completed her M.Ed. in Montessori Integrative Learning. Having been a writer and editor by trade, she was offered the opportunity to edit student papers and remained part of the TIES orbit. In 2018, she was invited to join the faculty as an assistant mentor. Outside of TIES, she has designed programs for the Peace Learning Center that foster peaceful family relationships using Montessori principles, has certification to teach Godly Play, and uses Montessori materials to tutor elementary students struggling in a traditional environment. She makes time to write about education reform and possibility intended for mainstream audiences.

Tamara’s first love is her family. In her free time she likes to take walks, train her dogs, read, and watch film. She has a lifelong love of classic country and bluegrass music and has promised herself that one day she really will learn to play her banjo.

Marsha received her MA in Holistic Education from Norwich University. She worked as a Montessori teacher, school director, educator of Montessori teachers, consultant, and workshop leader. These took her around the world with her husband, Philip Snow Gang. In New Zealand she was on the Organic Cities Trust as well as a principal to the Kids Edible Garden Project – a program to place permaculture gardens in government school. She was the 1989 founder of Nova Montessori School in Christchurch.

As a graduate of the 1970-1971 AMI Elementary Course of Study at Bergamo, Italy, she studied with Maria Montessori’s son, Mario Montessori, who lectured extensively on the subject of ecology. This was his last year of primary involvement.

The main focus of her work was “perceiving systemic patterns in the design and creation of learning communities.” She said “We are storytellers, mythmakers and symbol designers. Addressing the present planetary crises through education may provide new possibilities for Gaian renewal.” Her graduate thesis was titled: “An Ecogenesis for Education: A Context for Learning.”