Kathleen Coskran
Former Head of Lake Country School, Author
Kathleen Coskran served as a Peace Corps teacher in Ethiopia from 1965-67, and later taught in Kenya where she became interested in early childhood education. Upon returning to the United States, she completed her Montessori training and opened a small school in 1974. In 1995 she became head of Lake Country School, a large, nationally known Montessori school that serves children ages 3 to 15. Under her direction, the school bought a 180-acre farm and created the Lake Country Land School to incorporate a six-week residential program for adolescents into the standard curriculum of the school.

Ms. Coskran’s short fiction and articles have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies. Her collection of short stories, The High Price of Everything, won a Minnesota Book Award as did Tanzania on Tuesday: Writing by American Women Abroad which she co-edited. She is the recipient of numerous artists’ fellowships and residencies including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Bush Artist’s Fellowship, and two grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Steve Hughes, PhD, LP, ABPdN
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology
University of Minnesota Medical School
www.goodatdoingthings.com
Steve Hughes is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and maintains a private practice in St. Paul, Minnesota where he specializes in assessment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other learning and behavioral problems.

Dr. Hughes completed his PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota and his post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he joined the faculty of the Division of Pediatric Clinical Neurosciences in 2001.

Molly O’Shaughnessy
Executive Director and Director of Primary Training
Montessori Training Center of Minnesota
www.mtcm.org
Molly O’Shaughnessy is an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) trainer, lecturer, consultant and national and international speaker. Since 1996, she has served as Executive Director and Director of Training at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota (MTCM), as well as Community Faculty for Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul. She earned her AMI Primary (3-6) diploma from the MTCM in 1976 and holds an M.Ed. from Loyola University Maryland. She serves on the board of the AMI in Amsterdam, NAMTA (North American Montessori Teachers’ Association), and is a member of the AMI Trainers Group.

Ms. O’Shaughnessy served as a founding board member for the Minnesota Children’s Museum and has dedicated her life to education and children. She serves on the boards of Ready for K, The Family Place (a day center for families living without permanent housing), and other organizations dedicated to the welfare of children and families.

Tim Seldin
President, Montessori Foundation
Chair, International Montessori Council
www.montessori.org
Tim Seldin’s almost forty years of experience in Montessori education includes twenty-two years as Headmaster of the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland, his own alma mater. He has also served as the Director of the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies and as Head of the New Gate School in Sarasota, Florida. 

He earned a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Georgetown University, an M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision from The American University, and his Montessori certification from the American Montessori Society. Mr. Seldin is the author of several books on Montessori Education, including his latest, How to Raise An Amazing Child, The Montessori Way with Dr. Paul Epstein.