Our Faculty & Staff
Administrative Team
Randy Crowley
Head of School
Randy has been the Head of School at Franklin since the School's founding in 2002. She received her Montessori Early Childhood credential from Montgomery Montessori Institute in 1994. She taught in the Early Childhood classroom for over 30 years and was the founder of innovative children's gardening and cooking programs. Randy is a classically trained chef and brings her love of cooking to many of our special school events.
Alison Murray
Office Manager
Alison joins Franklin after a 20 year career in corporate catering. She is a DC native with a BFA in Theatre Arts from SUNY Purchase. She loves food, cooking, and gardening on her balcony.
Keri Willey
Administrative Assistant
Keri comes with 5 years of Early Childhood classroom experience. She has a B.S. in Political Science and Sociology from Towson University. She loves cats (especially her cat Soap), music, and Miyazaki movies.
Lead Montessori Teachers
Faye Charles
Teacher Room 4
Ms. Faye joined Franklin in 2004. She has over 35 years teaching experience. She received her Early Childhood Montessori credential from MMI (Montgomery Montessori Institue), a B.A. in English from the University of District of Columbia, and a B.A. in Early Childhood Development from the University of Guyana. She studied nursing and is active in community outreach.
Shannon Myles
Teacher Room 5
Ms. Shannon joined Franklin in 2010. With over 10 years of teaching experience, she received her Early Childhood and Elementary Montessori credentials from Toronto Montessori Institute and her B.A. in Psychology from University of Western Ontario. Shannon is an avid runner and enjoys going to the beach with her family.
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Stephen Stitzel
Lead Teacher Room 2
Mr. Stephen is the Lead Teacher in Room 2. Stephen has been in Montessori for 12 years and this is his 5th year at Franklin. He is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Stephen enjoys cooking, playing basketball, and watching golf in his free time.
Jackie Kelleher
Lead Teacher Room 3
Ms. Jackie joined Franklin in 2005. She received her Montessori Assistant credential from Washington Montessori Institute at Loyola University Maryland, an Early Childhood credential from Maryland Montessori Institute, and a B.A. in Art History from American University. She loves art, traveling, tennis and Nationals baseball.
Infant & Two-year-old Lead Teachers
Lizzy Maresca
Lead Teacher Infant 1
Ms. Lizzy joined Franklin in June of 2018 as an Infant Caregiver. She first started working as an assistant in a Montessori elementary classroom 12 years ago. Since then she has assisted in a primary and infant classroom. She has also served as a lead teacher in a traditional 3-year-old classroom and as a lead teacher of an infant classroom at a daycare. In her free time she enjoys practicing yoga, playing with her dogs, and spending time with local family members.
Carmen Rivera
Lead Teacher Infant 2
Ms. Carmen formerly taught at Franklin as a teacher assistant in 2004, returned this winter as a permanent substitute. She received her B.A. in general education from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico, completed her Montessori elementary training in 2011, and has been teaching for over 15 years. Carmen loves salsa dancing and reading.
Viona Lindsay
Lead Teacher T-1
Ms. Viona is a new lead teacher in T-1. She pursued her infant/toddler Montessori credential through the Montgomery Montessori Institute after falling in love with Montessori and RIE during her first year working with the Franklin Montessori School. She received her B.Ed in English/Language Arts from Satya Wacana Christian University in Indonesia and A.A. in Early Childhood Education from the University of the District of Colombia. She has been working with children for more than 13 years, and is a mother to two young kids herself. She loves every single child's unique character and looks forward to learning with her students every day.
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Christine Robertson
Lead Teacher T-2
Ms. Christine joined Franklin in 2010. After 7 years as an Early Childhood lead teacher, she received her Infant/Toddler Montessori credential through MMI. She received a B.S. in Family Studies from the University of Maryland. Christine can often be found offering her baked goods to friends and neighbors or on the baseball diamond playing softball or coaching Little League baseball.
Diana Hashem
Lead Teacher T-3
Ms. Diana joined Franklin in 2005 as an Assistant Teacher. She received her Infant/Toddler Montessori credential at the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies. She speaks French, Farsi and German. She enjoys spending time with her two daughters and travelling.
Anastasia Smith
Lead Teacher T-4
Ms. Anastasia pursued a Montessori education from Montgomery Montessori Institute because of her passion for helping guide individuals to a happy and healthy lifestyle. She has grown up in the DMV area and has been lucky to have the opportunity to explore all it has to offer. Anastasia worked with a non-profit organization in the District for homelessness that she stays active with in her free time. In between teaching, she worked along side a pediatric Dentist doing both pediatric and orthodontic dental care. She enjoys going to food and music festivals around the DMV area.
Enrichment Specialists
Diana Oboler
Franklin Art Founder
Diana Oboler founded Franklin's Art Program in 2003. She recieved her B.A. in Philosophy and Literature from New College and her Early Childhood Montessori credential from Montgomery Montessori Institute. She has over 15 years experience in the classroom. Diana presents each art unit to the children, dressed as that artist and is the genius behind the art night movie.
Gergana Genova
Art Teacher
Gergana is trained as a fine artist and graphic designer in Europe at Free Academy of Fine Arts “Jules Pascin”. She has lived in Washington DC for 19 years and has being involved in many children's art projects through out the years. She loves traveling and visiting art museums. She enjoys making Art and working with children.
Mills Brown
Art Teacher
Mills is the new co-art-teacher at Franklin Montessori. She earned an MFA in Studio Art from American University, following a BA in English and Art History from Wofford College. As a practicing artist, Mills predominantly works in collage and painting. When she’s not in the art studio, Mills also loves to spend her free time reading, cooking, and visiting family in South Carolina.
Amy Beam
Staff Naturalist
Ms. Amy joined Franklin in 2002. She has over 30 years experience working with children. She is passionate about sharing nature with children, their families, our teachers, and the larger community. Amy also enjoys being an instructor at the Montgomery Montessori Institute. She loves her work and looks forward to it every day.
Julie Billingsley
Music Teacher
Ms. Julie has been working with Franklin and our other sister schools since 2014. She is a member of the American Montessori Society (AMS), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. She has a masters in Music Education from the Institute of Education in London. Julie is Montessori-trained and enjoys taking music into the classrooms, using guitar, ukulele, mandolin, and various flutes and percussion instruments.
