Governance
Breakthrough Montessori is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Board works with the executive director and other school leaders to ensure the long-term financial and programmatic success of the school. Some of their specific responsibilities include: evaluating the executive director, overseeing school finance, approving the budget, tracking school performance, and representing Breakthrough in front of the Public Charter School Board.
We invite you to review a detailed description of board responsibilities here. If you are interested in applying to join the Breakthrough Montessori Board of Trustees, we invite you to submit an application here.
Board Meetings 2025-2026
During the 2025-26 school year, the Board of Trustees will meet on the following dates:
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 (This meeting was rescheduled from October 23, 2025)
Thursday, December 11, 2025
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Past Board Meeting Minutes
Board Meeting Archives
Our Board of Directors
Term Expires 2025
Juliette Berg
Principal Researcher, American Institutes for Research
Juliette Berg is a parent representative on the Breakthrough Montessori Board. Juliette became more and more enthusiastic about Montessori as she learned about the approach through her research at American Institutes for Research (AIR). As a parent of two girls enrolled at Breakthrough, she hopes to support Breakthrough’s vision for carrying out all that Montessori has to offer for developing children’s social, emotional, and academic skills, with equity and inclusion at the center. Juliette’s work at AIR focuses on how research, practice, and policy can harness the science of learning and development to help create the conditions and opportunities for young people to thrive. Juliette directs and contributes to mixed methods randomized control trials and quasi-experimental studies of programs to improve the learning environments and social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes of young people. She also contributes to efforts to synthesize and share what the science says about how young people learn and develop.
Juliette holds a Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from New York University and a B.A. in Culture, Societal Structures, and Psychology from Brown University. She completed her post-doctoral work at University of Virginia.
Contact: jberg@air.org
Term Expires 2026
Kendra Harpster (Secretary)
Executive Editor, Kevin Anderson & Associates
Kendra Harpster is a parent representative on the Breakthrough Board of Trustees. She has two children who have been enrolled as students since 2019, when Breakthrough was located in Petworth on Taylor Street, NW. She served as president of the School Home Association for three years and as treasurer for one. Kendra continues to devote time to Breakthrough as a room parent, co-chair of the Spring Book Fair, and now as a Trustee.
Prior to moving to Washington, D.C, Kendra worked in New York City as an editor at several imprints within Penguin Random House. In her 25-year career, she has edited the fiction of bestselling writers including Tana French, Garrison Keillor, Kurt Anderson, Jim Lehrer, Kim Edwards, Mark Haddon, Liz Moore, David Wroblewski, and many others. Kendra continues to work with writers on fiction, memoir, and other creative nonfiction as an Executive Editor for Kevin Anderson & Associates.
Jasmine Williams
Jasmine works with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) where she provides race and equity guidance and education, and delivers Montessori theory and practice instruction for the NCMPS Montessori Teacher Residency.
Jasmine holds an AMS Early Childhood credential and a M.Ed. in TESOL, Literacy, and Culture. She has worked in bilingual Montessori programs for 12 years, including 8 years in a public program, as a classroom teacher, reading interventionist, Montessori coach, and academic director.
Jasmine considers herself a citizen of the world, having lived/volunteered in and traveled to 48 countries around the globe, including living in China for four years. She is passionate about equitable and joyful Montessori education, and her dream is to bring free, socially justice centered Montessori training and education to marginalized communities throughout the world. Jasmine is currently earning a doctorate in Education for Social Justice at the University of San Diego with the desire to add to this body of knowledge in teacher training. Her focus is on decolonizing and rehumanizing Montessori education through teacher education programs.
Colleen Scott (SHA President, ex officio trustee)
Colleen Scott is a dedicated member of the Breakthrough Montessori community and proud parent of two sons enrolled at the school. Since joining the community in 2023, Colleen has been deeply involved in supporting school events and family engagement. She has served as Fall Festival Chair or Co-Chair for the past three years, an experience that sparked her passion for strengthening connections among families and the school.
Colleen previously served as the School Home Association’s (SHA) Director of Communications for the 2024–2025 school year and now serves as the current SHA President. Her commitment to community building extends beyond Breakthrough—Colleen has a background in nonprofit work across the DMV area, where she has helped families in transition by providing furniture and essential home supplies.
Colleen is honored to serve on the Board of Trustees and remains deeply committed to supporting and strengthening the Breakthrough community and the families who make it so special.
Term Expires 2027
Gabriel Movsesyan (Treasurer)
Senior Economist, Department of Transportation
Gabriel is a current Breakthrough parent. As a member of the board, he would like to contribute to and expand the school's mission of providing free, high-quality Montessori education. He is enthusiastic about how a Montessori education develops and supports the children's learning, growth, and maturation. He enjoys contributing to the Breakthrough community in various ways, such as conducting presentations to the Maple classroom, participating in school activities like the SHA culture potluck, and attending our monthly coffee chats.
Gabriel has extensive experience teaching economics and other subjects to diverse audiences, most notably to incarcerated women as part of the Bard College Prison Initiative. He has also taught and tutored students of all ages for various standardized tests. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Certificate in Demography from the City University of New York Graduate Center and a B.A. in Economics from Queens College (CUNY).
Allison Jones (Board Chair)
Allison is a primary- and elementary- trained Montessorian with over 20 years of experience, including teaching, coaching, special education, school administration, and bilingual Montessori in public, charter, and international school settings. She holds an M.Ed. from Loyola University. Her passion is ensuring that Montessori is implemented in a way that serves all children and is rooted in each child's identity and community. When she is not working with teachers, she likes to read, swim, dance, and travel.
Keisha Igbazua
Keisha Igbazua is the president of Breakthrough Montessori's School Home Association and a parent representative on the Board of Trustees. She has been an active member of the SHA Board since her family joined the Breakthrough community in 2021. Before becoming President of the SHA, she served as its Director of Diversity and Inclusion. Her four sons have been Montessori-educated since birth, and the Montessori values of social justice, equity, and empathy have been the foundation of her journey as a mother.
Keisha is an accomplished operations and strategy leader with over 18 years of experience advancing equity-centered operational strategies and practices across nonprofit and mission-driven organizations such as Mamatoto Village, PolicyLink, and Provoc. She currently serves as the Director of Operations for BWTEotR, a nonprofit devoted to reducing cancer mortality and increasing health-related workforce success for women living East of the Anacostia River. Keisha has a proven track record of guiding cross-functional teams, managing organizational strategy, and financial oversight to build scalable, inclusive operations. She brings deep expertise in financial management, HR strategy, and program implementation.
Keisha holds a degree in Economics and Psychology from Howard University.
Term Expires 2028
Katie Mosquera
Katie Mosquera, M.Ed., is the Elementary Coordinator for the Montessori Teacher Residency at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMTR). She also serves as an instructor for NCMPS’s Coaches Training programs, supporting Montessori educators and leaders nationwide. With over 20 years of experience, Katie has worked as a Montessori guide, administrator, instructor, and coach in both public and private settings. She holds an AMS Elementary I–II credential, an AMS Instructor Academy certificate, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia, and an Educational Leadership certificate, along with Maryland teacher and administrator licenses. Katie brings deep experience in the public sector combined with a deep commitment to fostering high-fidelity Montessori practice and educator development. She is a leader of the Public Montessori Residency Consortium Faculty workshop and the lead Coach for the NCMTR. Katie is integral to developing and implementing the Train-the-Trainer program.
Jorge Salazar
Jorge is an attorney who works in Labor Management and Employee Relations at a DC area Local Education Agency where he provides senior agency leadership, school administrators, and employees advice and counsel on a range of employment matters, manages union and non-union grievance and complaint processes, and supports agency leadership and operations teams on strategic use of employees. Jorge also supported the administration of a performance evaluation system for over 7,000 school-based employees and facilitated its appeal process.
Prior to his career in education, Jorge worked as a business and communications consultant in the veterinary industry, founded a digital marketing company, and served as a legal housing advocate with Legal Aid. Jorge holds a Juris Doctorate from UC Berkeley School of Law and B.S. in Finance from Florida State University.
Jorge is the proud parent of two daughters who have benefited from Montessori education. In particular, he values the Montessori goals of independence, respect for the child, and the teaching of practical life skills.