Board of Directors

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Founding Board Member, Board President

Cristina Scott has been a longtime proponent of the Montessori philosophy both as a parent and a Board Member.  Her daughter was a Montessori child for seven years and Cristina served as a Board Member of that school prior to helping found Southlake Montessori in 2014.  Cristina worked for 24 years at Sabre, based in Southlake, and now works for an Association based in the Washington, D.C. area.  Her philanthropic work includes initiatives for Amnesty International, responsible and sustainable business practices, and anti-human trafficking work.  Cristina is honored to have been a founding Board Member at Southlake Montessori and is proud to be part of this important work which has such a profoundly positive impact on the children and families in our community.  

Founding Board Vice-President & Pedagogical Advisor

Debby Riordan is one of four women who founded Southlake Montessori in 2014 and served as the Founding Head of School through the 2017-2018 school year, returning to that position for additional years after that and now serving as the Director of Pedagogy.  She also is the current Vice-President of the Board.   Debby also is the Founding Director of Montessori360 supporting parents, faculty and administrators. Prior to this work, Debby worked diligently with the Association Montessori Internationale of the United States (AMI/USA) first as a board member and then as the Executive Director.  Debby has a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology, a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, her AMI Montessori Elementary diploma and, most importantly, has witnessed the gift of Montessori education in her four children.

Founding Board Member, Board Secretary

Bonnie Hamilton was first introduced to Montessori education as a parent.  Both of her children have attended an AMI Montessori school since the beginning of their educations, and Bonnie assisted in a Lower Elementary Montessori classroom for two years.  She has seen firsthand what a Montessori environment can do to foster the love of learning as well as a sense of community in a child.  Bonnie has a BBA in International Business and Business Broadcasting from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.  In addition to her time as  Montessori Assistant, Bonnie has spent most of her career in the financial services industry.  Bonnie is very proud to be a Founding Board Member for Southlake Montessori. ​

Board Member

Omar grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico, and first discovered Montessori when he and his wife, Ana Sofía, enrolled their daughter Emma at Colegio Montessori de Chihuahua, a historic AMI school founded in 1962, one of the earliest AMI schools outside of Europe. Seeing Emma thrive—and sitting through the required parent-education sessions—sold him on the method’s focus on independence and hands-on exploration.

When work brought the family to North Texas, he toured several “Montessori” schools before walking into Southlake Montessori and instantly recognizing the real thing. All four Garza children—Emma, Ivanna, Isaac, and Aaron—now attend the school, and Omar serves on the board because, as he puts it, “every guide and board member here has real skin in the game.”

Omar is CEO of Frama-Tech, a DFW-based distributor serving woodworking and millwork customers across the U.S. and Mexico. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from Universidad Anáhuac (Mexico City) and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. Bilingual in Spanish, English and conversational in German, Omar loves to read, travel and tinkering with new tech. 

Board Member

Sean Yan is a passionate advocate of the Montessori curriculum and a dedicated supporter of education. In addition to his role as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Canoo Technologies Inc., an automotive manufacturing company based in Dallas, Texas, Sean has served on multiple non-profit boards including Family Promise of East Bell County, a United Way partner serving Central Texas families facing homelessness and home insecurity. As a proud parent of two Southlake Montessori students, Sean understands the importance of a quality education and is committed to helping young children reach their full potential. He holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University as well as undergraduate business and language degrees from Baylor University. Join Sean in supporting our mission to provide a nurturing and empowering learning environment for children in our community.