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Board of Directors

Governing Body:

Phoenix Montessori Academy is a Non-profit 501(c)(3) Corporation governed and managed by a Board of Directors (BOD) and Officers. The Officers and members of the BOD consist of parents, community volunteers, and the Head of School. All are committed to the Phoenix vision and mission. The BOD and Officers, collectively, make key decisions about growth and expansion, financial management, and tuition/fees. They are also responsible for ensuring the school is in compliance with any necessary federal, state & local requirements for operation. This group is mostly focused on the strategy of the school and its long term plans. The Head of School, along with the PMA staff, is responsible for setting the direction of the school and orchestrating the day to day operations of the school. The Head of School also oversees staffing and sets school policy. The Staff is responsible for classroom management, curriculum, admissions, parent communication & involvement, facility maintenance, student/staff record keeping and other daily functions of the school.

Steven has lived in the Huntersville area since 2013 and his daughter Anna (15) attended Phoenix Montesori Academy for 3 years. He is married to Seiko, and they have an older daughter Aya (23). He joined the PMA board in 2015.

Steve began his career in 1982 with PricewaterhouseCoopers (Indianapolis, IN) where he was responsible for leading audits of insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and health care clients. He is a CPA. In 1991, he joined Chiquita Brands International (Cincinnati, OH) with roles in Internal Audit and Global Marketing Operation Control. Steve was promoted to Vice President Internal Audit in 1999, where he led a department of eighteen associates providing global internal audit and consulting services.
Still with Chiquita in 2006, Steve was promoted to Vice President, Finance, Asia, Pacific and Middle East and moved to Singapore. There he led a finance/ accounting/IT function overseeing a joint venture that included fruit sourcing, shipping, and distribution throughout Asia. In 2008, Steve joined Intercontinental Hotels Group in Singapore as Director Internal Audit, Asia Pacific.
In 2010, Steve moved back to the US and joined Apollo Global (University of Phoenix international unit based in Chicago, IL) as Chief Financial Officer for Chilean acquisitions, where he headed all financial and strategic planning functions. He commuted from Chicago to Chile.

Steve joined Microban International, in Huntersville, NC in early 2013 as Chief Financial Officer. He has overseen their global financial operations, IT and customer service efforts since then. Microban is a private company. Steven was a key member of the senior management team, reported to the President and an independent board of directors. He interacts with banks and other external stakeholders, including an affiliated company in Memphis, TN.

In 2019, Steve joined a financial consulting firm, Experis in Charlotte, where he provides financial services to clients.

Carole Krug is the President of the Board of Directors at Phoenix Montessori Academy. She has been President since Fall 2012.
Carole lives in Davidson, North Carolina. She is married to John and they have two boys, ages 16 and 20. She is currently a realtor with Allen Tate Real Estate in Davidson. She has been a realtor since 2012.

Carole was raised in New Jersey in a suburb of New York City. She attended college in New York State and spent her junior year at the University of London, Goldsmiths College. She returned to New Jersey after graduation.

After college, Carole pursued a career in social work while studying for a masters degree. She soon learned that she was more interested in one aspect of her work, appearing in court to testify or accompany clients, and decided to enroll in law school. After graduating, Carole first held a clerkship with the Assignment Judge of the Superior Court, then went on to private practice with a medium-size firm. After a number of years, Carole and a partner formed their own firm. She served as a Trustee of the Morris County Bar Association and a member of the District Ethics Committee (NJ Office of Attorney Ethics) where she investigated, charged and tried allegations of ethics violations. Carole practiced until her move to North Carolina.
She cared for her children while they were young before venturing back to business. Carole and her husband started KidTime, a drop-in childcare center in Huntersville in 2003. KidTime was a novel concept for the greater Charlotte area and became the model for other entrepreneurs in the region.

Carole also helped start a private elementary school in Davidson and was the president of the PTA. She is a founding Board member of The Warehouse Performing Arts Center, a small community based theater.

Carole continues to enjoy the practice of real estate, community involvement and her time as a Board member at PMA.

Ashley grew up in Huntersville and has lived in and around the area for 36 years. She is married to Rufus and is one of the founders of PMA in 2004 when their son Josh (25) was in 6th grade. Their sons Nicholas (13) and Cooper (12) are currently enrolled in the school and have attended since they were in the toddler program. Ashley joined the Board in 2008 when she served as Board Secretary for several years and is currently the Board Treasurer.
In 1992, Ashley began her career with NationsBank’s mortgage department in Charlotte where she worked as an administrative assistant to a group of executive VPs. She went on to perform work in all aspects of the mortgage process and was responsible for registering loan applications, preparing loan documents for underwriting and preparing closing packages for attorneys. She was chosen to attend Total Performance Training in technical writing and went on to write training manuals for several positions in the mortgage department.

Ashley joined Chematron, Inc in 1998 as an Office Manager where she was responsible for bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable, reconciliation of all bank and credit accounts, payroll for all employees, calculating commissions for the sales force, submitting payroll tax, working with accountants to prepare annual returns, negotiating employee benefit contracts and preparing financial reports for officers. She now manages the books remotely and manages office staff who perform data entry on site.

In 2001 Ashley and her husband, Rufus launched GuttersDirect.com, LLC, an online retail website for roof drainage equipment. Ashley is responsible for all bookkeeping, reconciliation of all bank and credit accounts, payroll and associated payroll tax payments and filings, preparation of financial reports and prepares the annual tax return.

Ashley is heavily involved in the day to day operations at Phoenix Montessori Academy and considers the school an important part of her life’s work. She checks in daily with the Head of School, Business Manager and Director of Admissions to brainstorm and strategize so PMA can provide the best possible experience for the students and staff.

Sue joined the Phoenix Montessori staff in 2014, with an extensive management and administrative background. Past experiences include program management, systems analysis, computer programming, recruiting and office administration. Sue utilized her technical background in the diverse position of Director of Admissions and Student Services until the end of the 2019-20 school year when she retired. Sue joined PMA's Board of Directors in the fall of 2022 as Secretary. Prior to joining PMA, Sue was a parent volunteer, while her son attended Middle and High School at PMA. Her son graduated from PMA in 2019.

India has a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English from Belmont Abbey college where she graduated from the Honor’s Program cum laude. She also has a Master’s of Arts degree from Endicott College in Montessori and Integrated Learning.

India has Montessori credential for Elementary I (1st-3rd) and Elementary II (4th-6th) from the Center of Montessori Teacher Education North Carolina, and Secondary I (7th-8th ) from Houston Montessori Center. She is currently in the final semester of study to receive a credential from the Center of Montessori Teacher Education New York.

India has experience in teaching in Montessori classrooms since 1995. She has been Head of School since 2004. India is a founding member of Phoenix Montessori Academy.

India is also the owner of the Center of Montessori Teacher Education North Carolina where she worked a trainer for 8 years teaching Math, Philosophy, and Geography. India became owner and director of the center in 2017.

Outside of school, India serves as an Elder at her church where she leads ministries such as Rooms in the Inn (a homelessness initiative). She also coaches girls basketball with the Lake Norman 1 organization.

Don Bowen has been a resident of the Charlotte area for 6 years. He has two children one of whom attended Phoenix Montessori for 4 years. Don served in the U.S. military working in the electronics field for several years. After leaving the service he attended college in Illinois where he focused on information technology and instructional design, graduating with honors. Don worked in the field of human resources before moving to Charlotte where he began his tenure with the Department of Homeland Security. He joined the Phoenix Board of Trustees in 2016.

Hi, I’m Sally Razack. I am an entrepreneur with a diverse professional background that’s lead to my current business: Sally Razack, Coaching and Consulting. I offer life coaching, as well as, consulting to businesses in need of program development, marketing and expansion support. I pull from years of professional leadership experience within the nonprofit sector, the human services field and the financial services industry. My personality is as eclectic as my resume; I value diversity and love creating thought provoking conversations and challenging stereotypes.

I began my philanthropic work in 1999, by serving on the start-up committee and later on the board of directors for ECHO ministries. We started an emergency and transitional homeless shelter, The Ark, in my hometown of Elkin, NC. I was young and fresh into my career as a mental health therapist. So, in addition to serving on the board for the homeless shelter, I also performed on-site visits and evaluations when guest behavior was questionable. They had me on speed dial in the beginning until we were able to implement certain protocols for ensuring the individuals who needed additional support were sent to the appropriate facilities.

In my personal life, business, and my participation on the Phoenix Montessori Academy Board of Directors, I am passionate about recognizing the value each person brings to a situation, understanding what’s important to each person involved and merging all of it together with the group’s mission. I seek to listen and pull aspects from what appear to be differing sides into cohesive options that further the goals of the group.

I am a mother of two boys, both students at PMA. I have been a PMA mom, since 2015 and have served on the board of directors since 2018.