Our Team
Marina P.
FOUNDER/ Director
Marina was born in Phoenix and raised in Tempe, Arizona. Her interest in education was piqued during her junior year in high school while working with her first mentor, Father Arthur, a Jesuit priest. She worked alongside Father Arthur, assisting at-risk children at the poorest church in the Phoenix area. Teaching those young children that year and the following year was the highlight of her last two years at Xavier College Preparatory.
Marina holds one degree from Arizona State University in elementary education (B.A.E) and a second degree from Belmont University in early childhood and Montessori education (M.A.T). She also holds two endorsements: Early Childhood and Elementary Education and an American Montessori Society primary diploma (2 ½ year olds to 6 year olds) with a MATCE (Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) endorsement.
John Jackson
Music Instructor
John Jackson is a Nashville native and local hero. He is a professional guitarist whose career has included national tours and studio recordings with Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne, Minton Sparks, and Tom Jones. He has a passion for teaching children and has over 19 years of experience teaching music in Montessori schools around Nashville, Tennessee.
Shabaz Ujima
Movement Instructor
Native to Nashville, Shabaz began his formal dance training at the Nashville School of the Arts and the School of Nashville Ballet. He continued his education at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, where he studied the Martha Graham Technique.
During his professional career, Shabaz danced with many professional companies, including Nashville Ballet’s second company, NB2, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in Dayton, Ohio, and Graham II in New York City. Shabaz has worked with notable choreographers throughout his career and has performed the works of Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, and Anna Sokolow.
Later in his career, Shabaz began to teach company classes for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, which birthed the love for teaching that he still has today. That opportunity guided him to teach Graham-based modern dance, contemporary, and improvisation at various art schools around the country, as well as in Middle Tennessee. Along with being the Movement Instructor at Ithaca Montessori, Shabaz is a full-time faculty member at the Nashville Ballet, a teaching artist with the Global Education Center, and an adjunct dance teacher at Belmont University. In 2017, Shabaz founded shackled feet DANCE! here in Nashville, Tennessee.
Vickie Martin
yogi
Vickie Martin is a RYT-certified yoga instructor who specializes in Kundalini and children’s yoga. Her extensive work in the greater Nashville area began in 2016. As the owner of Happy Go Yogi in Nashville, she has amassed over 2,000 teaching hours and honed her skills in Sound Healing and Reiki healing. Additionally, she holds certifications in Cacao Ceremony Facilitation and Children’s Vinyasa yoga. Vickie believes that “people are connected and live in harmony with Earth and all her gifts”. She serves as a guide through healing the wounds of our past so that anyone can find the courage to meet themselves wherever they are and the bravery to do the work to take them where they want to go.
Anna Owen
Administrative Assistant
Anna Owen is a former Montessori teacher turned mom of four. She currently lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with her family. Anna is a content creator for social media as well as an advocate for individuals with disabilities and special needs.