Our Team
If you would like to be a part of starting a micro school from the ground up, we would love to connect!
Danielle Smith
She/HerDanielle grew up outside of Boston, playing in the woods and on ponds around her home. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Environmental Studies and Spanish, and then taught outdoor, and farm-based, education around the Northeast. After several years of traveling and teaching outdoor education, Danielle returned home to Boston to pursue a masters in elementary education from Lesley University. A life-long learner, Danielle went back to school to complete her AMS Montessori training in primary (3-6 yrs old) through Northeast Montessori Institute (NMI) and lower elementary training (6-9 yrs old) with Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative (METTC). Danielle has a decade of classroom teaching experience from preschool through fourth grade in both Jewish and Montessori schools, and she is excited to blend her love for Jewish community/ritual with Montessori pedagogy. Danielle lives in Cambridge with her family and enjoys making pottery, cooking for friends, and singing in Jewish community.
Leigh O’Sullivan Flannery
Leigh brings a deep commitment to honoring the whole child and cultivating a joyful, inclusive Jewish learning environment. She fell in love with Montessori when her oldest was a baby, and has now sent four children through Montessori schools. With a professional background in politics, activism, and education, Leigh is passionate about helping young people grow into thoughtful, connected members of the Jewish community and the wider world. Leigh sees every child as a full human being deserving of respect, agency, and meaningful learning. With a BA from Smith College and a Masters in Jewish Education from Brandeis, she believes that Jewish tradition offers powerful tools - ritual, story, history, and values - for young people to explore identity, make ethical choices, and build bridges within and beyond our community. She lives in Cambridge with her family (and a few animals!) and loves gardening, cooking, and exploring how Jewish values connect to food, sustainability, and caring for the earth.
She/HerNurit Advisory Board
Leslie Kastner (she/her)
Leslie Kastner is the Senior Director of Admissions and Enrollment at Marin Montessori School, an AMI Montessori school in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is entering her tenth year in Montessori school leadership. She brings experience in admissions and enrollment management, advancement/development, family engagement, and volunteer management.
Throughout her career, Leslie has worked with Jewish day schools and other communal organizations in New York City, St. Louis, San Diego, Cleveland, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds an MSW and a graduate degree in Jewish Communal Leadership from the University of Michigan. Her work has centered on building strong communities, engaging families, and helping mission-driven organizations grow and thrive.
Christen Hazel (she/her)
Christen Hazel brings over 25 years of fundraising experience to Nurit Montessori and currently serves as the Senior Director of Development at The Vilna, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture. Her passion for Jewish Montessori comes from a belief in its power to nurture curious, independent children while grounding them in Jewish values of kindness, community, and responsibility.