Governance

Governance

SCMS is organized as an independent, non-profit corporation, which is governed by a self-generating Board of Trustees. The Board is governed by the school’s Articles of Incorporation and by the School’s by-laws. The Board is comprised of members, selected from the parent body and the community at large, as well as the Head of School. Board members generally serve minimum terms of three years. The tenure of board members is staggered so that the Board always has a mix of experienced and new members. New members are presented by the committee on Trustees and elected by the Board. Before serving on the Board, members usually serve on one of the board’s standing committees. Board meetings are generally held at 5:30 p.m. on the 2nd Monday of each month during the school academic year.

Board of Trustees

Erin Vogen – Board Chair – Erin lives in Afton with her husband, Eli, their three children, Hasle, Sawyer, and Ole and their young dog Pike. The Vogens have been active and grateful members of the SCMS community since 2014 as all three of their children have spent significant parts of their early childhood and elementary education in the capable and caring hands of the SCMS guides. Their two youngest are members of the Cedar classroom this year. After moving to Afton from St. Paul, the Vogens were immediately drawn to the school after their experience with the summer camp. The dedicated staff, opportunity to interact with nature and the farm program, Montessori model, and close knit community offered by the school made it stand apart and the Vogens have been devotees ever since. Erin has a bachelor's degree in Psychology from St. Olaf College and brings to the board her experience in healthcare administration, leading quality improvement, patient experience, change management, and compliance and regulatory initiatives for a variety of specialty practices across the twin cities.

Ross Behling - Chair Elect - Ross and his wife, Michelle, met in his hometown of Madison Wisconsin and have lived in Woodbury for the last 12 years. Their experience with SCMS began when their older daughter, Kennedy, joined the Children’s House several years ago. Kennedy is now in Cedar, and their younger daughter, Cora, is now in Maple. Ross strongly believes in the power of education to improve lives and is particularly enamored with the Montessori method that is child-led and individually paced. In addition to his new role on the SCMS board, Ross has participated for several years in 3M’s TECH program encouraging high school students to pursue STEM careers and two years mentoring middle school students in 3M’s Young Scientist’s Challenge. Ross has >10 years of experience in 3M’s corporate research material labs developing new adhesives for electronics, appliance, and automotive applications, and holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Iowa State University.

Michele Manning - Secretary -  Originally from Connecticut, Michele received her undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems.  Unsatisfied in the corporate world, she returned to school earning an Associates Degree in Graphic Design and a Certificate in Professional Photography.  For several years she was the Sales & Marketing Director for a professional photo lab.  Since 2005 she has operated her own photography business focusing on family, children and newborn portraiture.  Michele Manning is an SCMS parent.  Her son has been enrolled since his Kindergarten year and will be in Third grade in the fall. In addition to her son, she has two daughters and currently resides in Lake Elmo with her husband, Teddy Sr.  She loves photography, traveling, reading and cooking.

Brent Robinson - Trustee -  Brent grew up in Rochester Minnesota before attending the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelors degree in Individual Studies with concentrations in Management, Economics, and German.  Together with his wife Kathryn, and their two son they reside in Woodbury.  Their two sons, attend St. Croix Montessori School and keep them very active and busy through a wide variety of activities.  He has spent roughly 15 years in the Investment Services industry at US Bank in a variety of operations and management roles.

Brooke Kjos - Trustee - Brooke and her husband Luke went to High School together and are both from Stillwater, after they married, they settled into the Stillwater area they love so much with their 2 children (Leddy & Leon) and most loved dog Kaprice. Brooke played Division 1 soccer and graduated from Creighton University in Omaha Nebraska with a BSBA and studied abroad in Australia. After college Brooke lived in Norway for 2 years and worked at Skagerak International School and fell in love with the method of teaching which is very much like the Montessori philosophy. Currently Brooke is the Marketing Director for Directa Dental USA, a Swedish manufacturer of technical dental products and a part of the St. Croix Soccer Club and also member of the Stillwater Chambers of Commerce.

Christina Caubet - Trustee -  Christina lives in Stillwater with her husband, Kevin, and son, Bodhi. Growing up in Pennsylvania, she attended Penn State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Religious Studies. Shortly thereafter, she received a professional certification from Villanova University in Paralegal Studies. Christina has been in the legal services industry for the last fifteen years with a primary focus on supporting early stage startups through corporate governance and securities transactions. She currently works as a Legal Operations Manager at a SAAS company that creates educational software and assessments. Christina began implementing the Montessori method at home when her son was just an infant and has been thrilled to watch him continue to find his voice and footing in the world - all while wearing a proud smile. Her family recently relocated to Minnesota from Colorado and truly values the integration of nature based learning that SCMS provides.

Kristina Burrows - Trustee - Kristina grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and graduated from Minneapolis South High School. She then attended the University of California, Berkeley and swam Division-1 for the Cal Bears. After receiving a Masters in Chemistry from Columbia University and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Kristina settled in San Francisco with her husband, Brad. Their family grew with the addition of three children. Kristina helped found several Montessori Schools including Le Port San Francisco, Mission Montessori and Cielito Lindo, each having an emphasis in bilingual education (Spanish). Now in Houlton Wisconsin, all three children attend St. Croix Montessori. Kristina currently acts as a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners, where she builds companies that seek to positively impact human health and wellbeing.

Kristopher Shelton – Trustee –  Kris lives with his wife, Maya, their son Sawyer (2) and their rambunctious German Shorthair Jordy in Hudson. Kris has an extensive background in the outdoors and experiential learning having spent time over several years guiding youth canoe trips through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). He was originally drawn to the Montessori model because of the focus on individualized learning, community, and how Montessori education sets a strong foundation for lifetime learning. Kris obtained his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Minnesota Duluth, holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin River Falls and is a certified lean practitioner through the University of St. Thomas executive education program. Kris has worked for Xcel Energy for the past seven years, most recently as category manager responsible for development and execution of the company’s corporate sourcing strategies.

Lauren O’Keefe - Trustee -  Lauren and Matt live in Lakeland Shores, MN with their two children, Quinn (Willow) and Desmond (Acorn, Birch), and two fluffball dogs, Fenway and Wrigley. Lauren’s love of the Montessori method comes from firsthand experience. She attended Highland Park Montessori School and Children’s Center Montessori from 16 months through her 4th year of elementary school. With any free time at school, she would pull out her math workbooks to get in some extra practice. As a result, math in high school and college came easily to her and she eventually started a career as a Biostatistician. Currently, she is conducting statistical analyses for medical research at Solventum (formerly the health care division of 3M). Experiencing how the Montessori method can take an interest and foster it into a talent so that a person can find their work enjoyable and rewarding made finding a Montessori school for her own children a priority. Quinn and Desi attended Cathedral Hill Montessori School from 2020-2022 and are thrilled to now be part of the SCMS community.