Laura M. Anderson
Board member and President since 2006.  Laura's three sons, Brendan, age 17, Sam, age 15, and Philip, age 13, began at MCMS in 2004 after moving from the Cleveland, Ohio area where they attended Hudson Montessori School.  Laura holds a BBA in Marketing and Management and an MS in Marketing Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Aside from professional marketing experience, she has worked as a teaching assistant in a Montessori Lower Elementary classroom.  She is currently an at-home mom.

Mike Bress
Board member since 2009. Born and raised in Washington DC, Mike attended Montessori through Kindergarten. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA, specializing in Finance and Strategy, from Georgetown University. A specialist in Corporate Finance, Mike moved to Madison from Washington (where his two children also attended Montessori) to be a Group CFO and to head up the Corporate Finance function at CUNA Mutual Group. Since 2010, Mike has run his own financial strategy and analytics business, also providing part-time/interim CFO services to clients across multiple industries.  Mike's two kids, Margaux, 9, and Ian, 7, both attend MCMS in Elementary.

Brandon Baldock
Brandon Baldock joined the MCMS board in 2012.  He and his wife, Jen, are the parents of two MCMS students, Maggie and Ella, and one future student, Owen.  Brandon studied at Luther College and Arizona State University and holds a Master’s degree in mathematics.  He is currently a product manager at Epic, a healthcare software company, where he has worked since 1998.

Erin Freiberg
Board Member since 2011 and current Vice President, Erin is the mom of three children at MCMS (Grace in Lower Elementary, Ben and Isaac in Children's House).  She has a B.A. in History from Messiah College in Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.  Erin has a private law practice focusing on employment practices and procedures, HIPAA compliance, and employee health and welfare benefits.  Erin also serves on the leadership team of the mothers' ministry and human resources committee of her local church.  She and her family have lived in the Madison area for 10 years.

Justin Harkins
Board member since 2012, Justin has two sons who attend MCMS - one in the Lower Elementary Program, and another in the Children’s House Program.  He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently a director for a group of companies in energy conservation and renewable energy industry.  Justin and his wife also operate a business that imports Montessori and other educational materials into Japan, where they have helped to open new Montessori Children's Houses.

Amy Jester
Board member since 2008, this year Amy chairs the Development Committee and has been working on a Building and Grounds subcommittee developing plans for our new outdoor playscape.  Amy has a BA from UW-Madison in Political Science and Communication Arts, an MA from Indiana University in Communication Studies and has completed PhD coursework from University of Minnesota in Rhetorical Studies.  She has taught university classes in Argumentation, Public Speaking, and Small Group Communication.  For the last six years, Amy has run her own business as a custom portrait photographer.  She is a former chair of the MCMS Family Connections parent association and her two children, Bennett (age 8), and Nora (age 5), attend MCMS.

Judith Olingy
Board member since 1993.  Her son started in the school's Toddler Program in 1993 and graduated from the Adolescent Program in 2005.  Judy graduated with a BA from Dickinson College, Carlisle PA and a JD from Antioch School of Law, Washington, DC.  She held the position of Clinical Law Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School since 1988 up until her retirement in April 2011.  Previous employment: Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice; Staff Attorney, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and private practice specializing in complex federal litigation.

Melissa Ozel
Melissa holds a Bachelor's degree in Art from UW-Madison, an M.Ed. from Loyola University, and her AMI Primary Diploma.  She has served many roles at MCMS since 2001 - Children's House After School (f/k/a Full Day) Staff, Elementary and Children's House Summer Program Staff, Children's House Assistant, Children's House Montessori Guide, Substitute Guide and now as a member of the Board of Directors.  She currently dedicates her days to her family, raising her 1 year old daughter and pursuing creative projects.  She finds MCMS to be a vibrant community of families, dedicated to quality AMI Montessori education and looks forward to continuing her involvement in the community.

Dorothy Zografi
Graduated with a BS in Education from State University of New York at Oswego in 1957 and taught fourth grade in Public Schools in Michigan from 1957-1960.  After several years at home raising four children, Dorothy returned to school, attended Midwest Montessori Institute and received an AMI Diploma certified to become a Directress (Montessori Primary teacher).  At MCMS she was a Primary Directress from 1978-1989, Head of School from 1984-2006 and on the Board as Head of School Emeritus since 2007.  Dorothy's daughter Anna is an AMI trained Directress who has been a teacher at MCMS since 1993.  She also has two grandchildren, ages 8 and 12, who attend MCMS, and one grandson, age 16, who attended MCMS for 11 years and is now a sophmore in high school.

Photos courtesy of Amy Jester Photography